January 2009

Client Story

At our December clinic in Falls Church, we had a client, Eve, scheduled from the Congo.  When Eve arrived at our office that evening, she did not come alone.  Trailing behind her were her children.... all eight of them, ages 2-12!  Although Eve's appointment could easily have been a chaotic nightmare,  it instead became a moving experience for the volunteers involved.

Since our small lobby was already crowded with other clients, we scrambled to figure out how to accomodate Eve and her family with minimal disruption.  We settled on conducting her interview in our conference room and brought in board games and books for the children. 

Two Just Neighbors volunteers interviewed Eve in the crowded room.  We suspected that one of the men, a patent attorney in DC and first-time volunteer with us, did not ordinarily encounter these situations in his day job.  However, the volunteer soldiered through the interview diligently, even when Eve began nursing her youngest while answering the questions.

Eve, a United States citizen, wanted to petition to bring her mother here from the Congo.  Eve's husband had left her and she was understandably struggling to work while mothering her eight young children.  It was easy to recognize the impact Eve's mother could have on this household as another caretaker.

Although her citizenship status granted Eve the legal right to petition her mother, Eve needed to demonstrate to Immigration that she had sufficient income to provide for her mother upon arrival.  Since Eve did not meet this income criteria, we informed her that she would need to find a friend or relative who could co-sign the application and agree to help the grandmother financially if necessary. 

Eve was not aware of this possibility.  She left the appointment hopeful that her aunt would be willing to co-sign for the application.  We told Eve to contact us once she had someone who could assist her and are still anxiously awaiting her call.

In the meantime, the first-time volunteer who worked with Eve that evening emailed us the day after the appointment.  Moved by Eve's family situation, he wanted to know if he could somehow contact Eve and inquire about providing holiday gifts to her children, as she could surely not afford to give them much.  We asked Eve and she was delighted. 

Although Just Neighbors' primary focus will always be its immigration legal services, the meaningful interactions between members of the community that would otherwise not meet is a cornerstone of our work.  Even though Eve and the volunteer were unable to connect, Eve was touched when we told her this man whom she had just met wanted to purchase gifts for her children.

Year in Review

For Just Neighbors, 2008 was a year of significant accomplishments.  Thanks to a new database we have become more accurate in the way we count our client cases.  Although this change accounts for some of our growth in clients served, there are other factors that have contributed to an increase in productivity in 2008.  Our move in September to a larger office created opportunities to serve more clients.  In addition, without any staff turnover this past year and with talented interns and volunteers, we were able to maintain a full caseload throughout the year.  Here are some statistics on the clients we served in 2008:

• 780 cases for 589 different clients (compared to 550 cases for 472 clients in 2007); a 42% increase in case totals
• 244 domestic violence cases (compared to 93 in 2007); an increase of 162%
• 291 family unification cases (compared to 220 in 2007); an increase of 32%
• 56% of clients were between the ages of 24-44

Next month we will highlight the countries of origin of our clients, which continue to expand in reflection of the diversity of Northern Virginia.

Around the Office

We are grateful for grants from the DLA Piper Foundation and the Washington Forrest Foundation as well as a donation from Foley & Lardner LLP.

Volunteer of the Month

Andrea Blonder Shuford has been an exceptional volunteer for Just Neighbors over the past two months.  Andrea comes in twice per week and has demonstrated a range of talents, from researching discrepancies in English spellings of Amharic names to updating the office calendar system.  We have been fortunate to have Andrea's help.  Thank you Andrea!