Womens rights information center (wric) proposes to implement a legal assistance program to provide free legal advice, counsel, and representation to low-income victims of crime in bergen county

The U.S. Department of Justice's Office of Justice Programs awarded a $255,000 Project Grant to the Womens Rights Information Center (WRIC), a New Jersey-based non-profit organization. The grant, provided through the Congressionally Recommended Awards program (CFDA 16.753), will fund WRIC's legal assistance program to provide free legal advice, counsel, and representation to low-income victims of crime in Bergen County. WRIC will use the funding to hire legal staff who will inform victims of their rights and protections, and provide legal representation for restraining orders, hearings for relief related to victimization, and issues related to separation, divorce, child and spousal support, parenting time, housing, and employment. The grant period runs from July 1, 2023 to June 30, 2024. Additionally, WRIC received a separate $395,123 Project Grant to develop trauma-informed therapeutic and job readiness services for victims of human trafficking in Bergen County.

Very few survivors receive help in the aftermath of crime. According to the alliance for safety and justice, the second most needed, but unmet, service is help in understanding the courts and legal system. The most direct way to help more survivors is by bringing in more attorneys and legal advocates. Wrics goal is to ensure full access to equal justice for those who cannot pay legal fees because of poverty or because their access to financial resources is often controlled by their abusers/perpetrators. Without legal advocacy and representation, many victims will go to court unrepresented, with potentially disastrous results. Wric will hire legal staff who will inform victims of their rights and protections, and provide legal representation for restraining orders, hearings for relief related to victimization, and for issues related to separation, divorce, child and spousal support, parenting time, housing, and employment. Wric will expand outreach to the community, partnering agencies, and underserved populations, including immigrants and those whose first language is not english, in order to increase visibility and public knowledge about its enhanced legal assistance program.