HJ834: Commending Ayuda.
WHEREAS, for five decades, Ayuda, a nonprofit organization with offices in Fairfax County, Maryland, and Washington, D.C., has supported low-income immigrants in Northern Virginia and throughout the region by providing legal, social, and language access services; and
WHEREAS, Ayuda traces its deepest roots to the 1960s when the Ayuda Para El Consumidor (consumer help) law clinic was established at the George Washington Law School to assist immigrants that had been targeted and victimized by consumer fraud; and
WHEREAS, the program expanded to provide general legal assistance to immigrants, and Ayuda was incorporated as a nonprofit organization in 1973; the organization’s mission is to support low-income immigrants through direct legal aid, social outreach and case management, and language interpretation; and
WHEREAS, Ayuda maintains a staff of full-time, bilingual attorneys and social workers and has cultivated relationships with specialized interpreters who are fluent in over 40 languages; the organization strives to break down barriers and ensure that immigrants have full access to the legal system and social supports; and
WHEREAS, Ayuda provides a wide range of assistance to immigrants, including legal consultations, help with completing and filing forms, and family law services; the organization has helped clients apply for and obtain visas and work authorizations and provided representation at asylum interviews and in immigration courts; and
WHEREAS, Ayuda also offers support and protection for immigrant victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, and human trafficking, including access to emergency and transitional shelter, food, clothing, or medical and trauma-informed mental health care for themselves and their children; and
WHEREAS, over the course of its history, Ayuda has helped approximately 150,000 clients more fully participate in their communities and better support themselves and their families; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That the General Assembly hereby commend Ayuda on the occasion of its 50th anniversary; and, be it
RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to Ayuda as an expression of the General Assembly’s admiration for the organization’s longstanding service to members of the immigrant community in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area.
HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 834
WHEREAS, for five decades, Ayuda, a nonprofit organization with offices in Fairfax County, Maryland, and Washington, D.C., has supported low-income immigrants in Northern Virginia and throughout the region by providing legal, social, and language access services; and
WHEREAS, Ayuda traces its deepest roots to the 1960s when the Ayuda Para El Consumidor (consumer help) law clinic was established at the George Washington Law School to assist immigrants that had been targeted and victimized by consumer fraud; and
WHEREAS, the program expanded to provide general legal assistance to immigrants, and Ayuda was incorporated as a nonprofit organization in 1973; the organization’s mission is to support low-income immigrants through direct legal aid, social outreach and case management, and language interpretation; and
WHEREAS, Ayuda maintains a staff of full-time, bilingual attorneys and social workers and has cultivated relationships with specialized interpreters who are fluent in over 40 languages; the organization strives to break down barriers and ensure that immigrants have full access to the legal system and social supports; and
WHEREAS, Ayuda provides a wide range of assistance to immigrants, including legal consultations, help with completing and filing forms, and family law services; the organization has helped clients apply for and obtain visas and work authorizations and provided representation at asylum interviews and in immigration courts; and
WHEREAS, Ayuda also offers support and protection for immigrant victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, and human trafficking, including access to emergency and transitional shelter, food, clothing, or medical and trauma-informed mental health care for themselves and their children; and
WHEREAS, over the course of its history, Ayuda has helped approximately 150,000 clients more fully participate in their communities and better support themselves and their families; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That the General Assembly hereby commend Ayuda on the occasion of its 50th anniversary; and, be it
RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to Ayuda as an expression of the General Assembly’s admiration for the organization’s longstanding service to members of the immigrant community in the Washington, D.C., Metropolitan Area.