Client Story

Aban recently came to one of our community clinics in Herndon. Aban is an attorney in his native country of Iraq who had worked extensively with the Americans. This work had put him and his family in danger in their home country. Aban arrived in the U.S. last year with his wife and two young children as a refugee and was ready to apply for residency here. (Once a refugee has been in the United States one year, he or she is able to apply for a green card).  Aban came to the clinic with his form filled out and just wanted Just Neighbors to check over his work.

Thankfully, we were able to advise him that all  four refugee members of the family needed separate forms and that the medical forms had recently been updated and needed to be redone. Aban and his wife returned one month later to sign off on their forms and were so grateful for Just Neighbors' help that they readily offered to assist us with any Arabic translating we needed done!

In the last few weeks, Aban's wife, Amira, has translated several documents from Arabic to English, which has enabled Just Neighbors to assist more Arabic-speaking clients. Aban and Amira continue to solicit volunteer work from Just Neighbors, as a show of their appreciation for our services.

We are glad to name Taka Fujiu of Morrison & Foerster LLP as our Volunteer of the Month.  Taka is one of several volunteers at the firm who assists at our community clinics.  Taka, however, is one of the few individuals who regularly attends both our Tuesday evening clinics in Falls Church and our Saturday morning clinics in Herndon.  Taka has shared that as an immigrant himself, he can appreciate the challenges our clients go through and the difference that immigration legal services can make in their lives.  We thank Taka for helping fellow immigrants become contributing members of the community.

NOVA Navigator

Just Neighbors is one of several organizations that has recently begun a new project in collaboration with Northern Virginia Community College (NOVA) called NOVA Navigator, an initiative to connect clients with NOVA's training and educational programs.  NOVA is the second largest institution of higher education in Virginia and one of America's largest community colleges with nearly 70,000 students at its six campuses.

This partnership will enable Just Neighbors to better connect clients to NOVA's services and courses that help them make use of their new legal status.  The program gives our clients access to college counselors who specialize in adult career and education counseling for immigrants.  Without guidance from these counselors, our clients might not be aware of or know how to access the opportunities the school offers.  Just Neighbors has already connected four clients through this program, including a single mother and her daughter who were victims of domestic violence.  We recently helped the mother get her work permit, and now she hopes to develop her English skills through NOVA so she can get a better job.  The daughter will graduate high school in three years and should have her green card soon after that, making her eligible for in-state tuition at the school.

Around the Office

Just Neighbors is thrilled to have finally moved our satellite office into Connections for Hope, a shared office space in Herndon used collaboratively by seven nonprofit organizations.  On March 15th, the facility held its Grand Opening.  We share conference rooms and an administrative assistant and work together to ensure that each client's various needs are met through the different service providers in the space.   The other partners at Connections for Hope are the Fairfax/Falls Church Community Services Board, Helping Children Worldwide, Jeanie Schmidt Free Clinic, The Literacy Council of Northern Virginia, Reston Interfaith, and Vecinos Unidos/Neighbors United.

Just Neighbors moved from Floris United Methodist Church, which had generously hosted us for eight years.  We are glad to free up space for them to use for their many programs and ministries and are grateful for their leadership and support throughout this transition.  Just Neighbors' attorney Dominique Poirier staffs the new office on Thursdays, and volunteer attorneys meet with other clients at the office as needed.  We are looking forward to serving more immigrants at this location and being part of such an exciting collaboration.