When the possibility arose of opening a legal clinic to address the serious legal needs of the Chinatown community, the Chinese UMC welcomed the opportunity. For Our Neighbors supervises the clinic and provides ongoing training for the church volunteers. But after the first few months, we hope to be able to expand our hours and refer clients to other services available within the community. The clinic provides three types of services. The first focus is on immigration education.
Videotapes are available covering a number of immigration topics, including asylum and deportation.
Workshops and small-group meetings can be scheduled as needed. Clients can avoid serious problems by dealing with situations in advance. Finally, the legal clinic also provides a referral service. All clinic staff are volunteers. The planning committee at CUMC began work on the project in May 1999.