Over the past summer, six interns working with
Michigan Migrant Legal Assistance Project, Inc (MMLAP) spent time doing outreach in the migrant worker community. What they found was a level of domestic violence much higher than was anticipated.
MMLAP, also known as Migrant Legal Aid, is a non-profit organization funded to provide legal assistance to migrant and seasonal farm workers. It is the primary legal service provider for farm workers in the state of Michigan.
Using the information discovered by the legal interns, MMLAP was "facing a massive intake of new clients" with an added layer of complexity due to the immigration issues that go beyond family law. To meet the demand, Executive Director Teresa Hendricks began the process to hire a an experienced Spanish-speaking attorney with a background in immigration.
According to Hendricks, funding for this new position has been aided by several local foundations including the
Grand Rapids Community Foundation (GRCF). Laurie Craft, program director at GRCF, views this a great example of solving a complex problem through collaboration as she identified the
Hispanic Center,
Legal Aid and the
YWCA Domestic Violence Center as playing key roles in this future hire.
With the addition of this attorney, MMLAP will have a staff of seven full-time staff who handle anywhere from 500-1100 cases per year.
Source: Teresa Hendricks. Laurie Craft
Writer: John Rumery, Innovation and Job News Writer
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