NEWS RELEASE
HAWC Awarded $5,000 Grant from Verizon
Family Law and Immigration Law Programs to Benefit
Salem, MA – November 7, 2014 – Healing Abuse Working for Change, Inc. (HAWC) is pleased to announce it is the recipient of a grant award from the Verizon Foundation to support its Family and Immigration Law Program.
This program provides free legal representation to high-risk clients of HAWC. The agency contracts with specially trained attorneys. Family Law attorneys assist with divorce, custody, visitation, child support, modifications, contempt, credit issues, and uncontested and contested abuse prevention orders. They also provide consultation to clients with less complex litigation matters.
Immigration Law attorneys assist clients with obtaining a VAWA or UVISA, which gives them legal protection to remain in the country if their immigration status was put in jeopardy because of being a domestic abuse survivor.
The Family and Immigration Law program, now a year old, is expanding with a new panel of pro-bono attorneys in 2015, supported by Verizon.
“We are grateful for the support of Verizon Foundation to sustain this critical program,” said Anthony DiPietro, Executive Director of HAWC. “The program serves a major need of high-risk clients by providing free legal services from attorneys who understand the dynamics of domestic abuse and can translate that experience when arguing a case. It has led to incredibly positive outcomes for our clients, and we can’t thank Verizon enough.”
About Verizon
Verizon’s grantmaking targets the company’s core initiatives of Education, Health Care, and Sustainability. Verizon has been a supporter of domestic abuse through its grants and innovative programs such as HopeLine. The HopeLine program “collects donated phones, then refurbishes and distributes them to domestic abuse survivors in need.” The HopeLine program also donates money to domestic abuse programs from the phones that can’t be reused.