By Alizah Khan
Navigating legal issues can make you feel like you're trying to find your way through a maze blindfolded. Deciding on which resource to trust or if you can even afford assistance adds another layer of complexity and inaccessibility. Knowing your legal resources is key! It helps you make informed choices and confidently navigate the legal system.
In Oregon we have the PCC Legal Resource Center a free legal clinic at PCC Cascade in North Portland, providing free legal services to Oregonians. Originally known as PCC CLEAR Clinic the PCC legal Resource Center provides a variety of resources, including but not limited to Criminal Record Relief, Housing Justice, Immigration Justice, and legal referrals.
Purpose
The purpose of the PCC Legal Resource Center is to tear down the legal barriers that keep our community from enjoying the benefit of each members’ full participation.
Vision
The PCC Legal resource center acknowledges the state and nation’s devastating history of white supremacy both within and outside the legal system; our vision is to clear our community members’ legal obstacles that arise from oppressive systems, and to work toward ending those systems entirely.
Mission
The PCC Legal Resource Center creates and fosters a PCC community that values all of its members and allows each person to shine their brightest, without being held back by legal issues. W help our community clear their records, clear up their housing and immigration issues, and clear their paths forward through free legal services and advocacy.
Values
- Every human being has inherent value. We strive to treat everyone who comes through our doors with dignity and respect and provide legal services that help promote the value of each person.
- Legal advocacy is critical for social and racial justice. We focus on reducing barriers to success and well-being and addressing historical injustice by providing access to essential legal services.
- Charging clients for legal services is an inherent barrier to accessing justice. Eliminating fees for our work increases equity and accessibility of legal services that support our community’s basic needs.
- Community resilience is possible through collaboration. We believe that our responsibility to the community goes beyond the college’s doors. We carry this responsibility through, among other things, the hands-on legal work we do in the Center and our community partnerships that provide wraparound support and community care.
- Fostering curiosity and growth provides opportunities for student leadership development. We are honored to provide experiential learning opportunities for PCC students through legal services leadership programs.
- Responding to harm or violations of the law does not require us to rely on incarceration and punishment. We work towards a society where immigration is not criminalized, and our response to harm or legal violations is repair not punishment.
>──────⇌••⇋────────⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽༓☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅────────⇌••⇋──────<
Please visit our website to educate yourselves on the resources available in the Portland community!
If you're interested in meeting us in person, feel free to drop by Cascade Campus, Terrell Hall, Room 203.
No comments:
Post a Comment