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CasaLuz Continues To Support Memphis’ Hispanic/Latinx Community

(Photo Credit: CasaLuz via Facebook)

CasaLuz was founded in 2015 by Venezuelan attorney, Inés Negrette, as a response to the the “lack of culturally specific services and resources to Hispanic/Immigrant victims of violent crimes,” in the Memphis-area.

The most recent statistics from the United States Census Bureau (USCB) said 7.7 percent of Memphis’ population identify as Hispanic and Latino. The USCB considers people of “Cuban, Mexican, Puerto Rican, South or Central American, or other Spanish culture or origin regardless of race,” as Hispanic or Latino.

In addition to this, Stacker Media reported that 30.8 percent of foreign born residents from Mexico live in Memphis. The company also said that Mexico is the number-one most common country of origin in the Tennessee, Mississippi, Arkansas Metro area. 

Negrette explained that when she initially founded CasaLuz, she only sought to provide victim services and focus on advocacy. However, “immediately” she realized they needed to widen their approach after seeing the various problems their clients faced.

According to its website, CasaLuz is the “first and only non-profit organization in the Memphis/Shelby County area that culturally and exclusively serves Hispanic/Latinx victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, human trafficking, stalking, harassment, and other violent crimes, including aggravated assault, aggravated robbery, kidnapping and more.”

The organization will celebrate its eighth anniversary this year, and Negrette explains that it has not been an easy journey. She says there have been many challenges, but that her work is needed.

Negrette’s experience in Memphis has been shaped by racist and “anti-immigrant” behavior, and how people use their own personal biases in the workplace.

“That is totally unacceptable,” said Negrette. “Especially when you are responding to victims of crime. I’m talking about different agencies, organizations, law enforcement. When they are violating Title VI of The Civil Rights Act of 1964, and they still behave like you or your client doesn’t have any rights, they’re in really big trouble.”

Organizations that receive federal funding must provide interpretation services, Negrette said, but that isn’t always the case. According to the U.S. Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs, “Under Title VI (and the Safe Streets Act), recipients are required to provide LEP (limited English proficient) individuals with meaningful access to their programs and services. Providing ‘meaningful access’ will generally involve some combination of services for oral interpretation and written translation of vital documents.” 

CasaLuz’ work primarily deals with Hispanic and Latinx victims of domestic violence and sexual assault, among other traumatic events. Negrette explains that both domestic violence and sexual assault are among the most un-reported crimes, as it takes so much for a victim to come forward, a decision made much more difficult when you’re an immigrant. 

“You are in another country. You don’t have your support system, said Negrette. “Many of our clients come here [Memphis] because their legal spouse made a promise of adjusting their status. They use immigration status as a tool against them.”

When clients make their way to CasaLuz, they’ve usually endured years and years of abuse, Negrette said.

“Once you go and look for help, and they mistreat you, they won’t believe anyone else,” said Negrette.”It’s a lack of trust through the judicial system and law enforcement – are they really going to help them? They fear being deported. They don’t understand the language, the culture.”

As a result of these barriers, Negrette has been tapped by several agencies to provide culture sensitivity training, and has partnered with the Memphis Police Department to provide “cultural awareness/responding to immigrant victims of crime training.”

Negrette said that they are also able to streamline the process from their offices including filing paperwork for clients and submitting court applications. They even have a partner to provide legal services.

“By the time of the hearing, the client will have a bilingual advocate with her, plus an attorney. The same thing with counselors. We have two Latina counselors in our office, and that is individual counseling.”

Negrette said that it’s been difficult getting here, but she is driven by her passion and vision for advocacy.

“Having to push, and never taking ‘no’ for an answer, has been difficult, yes,” said Negrette. “Easy? No, it’s not easy. But it is a way for us to try to become a part of the solution.”

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Amid Pandemic, Groups Ask Government for Resources, Support for Latinos

CREDIT: Latino Memphis

Latino Memphis

A group of Latino-serving organizations across the state sent a letter to Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee and local governments Wednesday asking for protection and resources for the immigrant community amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Signed by 18 groups, including four based in Memphis, the letter urged officials to address the COVID-19 pandemic and the disproportionate effects it is having on the Latino community.

While Latinos comprise 5.6 percent of Tennessee’s population, they represent 35 percent of the COVID-19 cases here, according to the letter. However, the Tennessee Health Department cites this number at 27 percent as of Wednesday.

In Shelby County, 25 percent of those testing positive are Latino, who comprise 6.5 percent of the county’s population. In Nashville and Knoxville, one-third of COVID-19 positive individuals are Latino, and in Chattanooga Latinos account for 68 percent of current cases.

“We need a robust plan and response from our local elected leaders to curb the rate of infections and save lives,” the letter reads. “We also need a focused and targeted response to reach communities most impacted by the pandemic and ensure that no one is left behind. We are only as healthy and safe as the most vulnerable members of our community.”

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Groups based in Memphis that signed the letter include the Mid-South Immigration Advocates, Latino Memphis, CasaLuz, and Memphis Wesley Foundation.

The letter specifically asks the government to take the following steps:

• Invest in community health workers and case management programs: “We know that Latino families face many barriers when seeking care and effectively quarantining after testing positive. We need to scale up the effective models like community health workers to include more Spanish-speaking staff members across the state.”

• Support effective quarantine to slow the spread: “Latino families often live in multi-generational households, and effective quarantine is difficult with limited space. Governments can mitigate the problem by providing alternative accommodation for COVID-19 positive individuals, such as hotels, until it is safe to reunite with families.”

• Partner with the organizations to organize targeted testing: “Agencies should coordinate with and support immigrant-serving organizations to offer testing at well-known, central and accessible locations and ensure that critical information is disseminated widely and reaches all communities.”

• Include immigrants, regardless of immigration status, in care and economic relief:

“Immigrant families have been largely left out of federal efforts to provide care and relief in response to COVID-19. While the state and local governments have worked to offer testing to all, regardless of immigration status, we need robust economic stimulus programs to help families make ends meet without putting themselves or their communities at risk.”

• Issue clear COVID-19 workplace health and safety regulations and hold employers

accountable: “Media reports have also shown many Latino essential workers continue to be exposed to the virus at their workplace, putting their families and communities at risk. Our state and local governments must ensure that all employers are implementing the guidance of OSHA and public health experts on how to keep all employees, including immigrants, safe at work.”

• Clarify policies and rebuild trust: “Many Latino immigrant families have come to fear government agencies and places that are meant to keep them safe. Government agencies and health institutions must strengthen and publicize policies to reassure immigrants that accessing care and services won’t result in immigration consequences.”

• Establish Offices for Immigrant Inclusion: “States and municipalities that have Offices for New Americans (also called Offices for Immigrants and Refugees) have been able to swiftly respond to the economical, health, and educational crisis presented by COVID-19. These offices serve as a clearing house, working to ensure consistency of multilingual messages and resources across the state, help to coordinate efforts that lead to more equitable and efficient outcomes, and strengthen local efforts to respond in a timely manner. Many of them have become trusted voices and are now pivoting to focus on resilient recovery. We call on the state and local governments to invest in Offices For Immigrant Inclusion, recognizing that our prosperity as a state is dependent on our ability to support the most vulnerable populations, both during and after this pandemic.”

The groups said the pandemic is compounding obstacles already present in the immigrant community.

“Latinos, especially the foreign-born, face enormous obstacles in accessing critical services that contribute to our health and well-being, such as limited English proficiency, ineligibility for public benefits, poverty, lack of transportation, fear, and discrimination,” the letter reads. “The barriers and inequities are compounded during the pandemic with families now facing job and income losses, evictions, exorbitant medical bills, lack of childcare, and more.

The letter continues by saying the pandemic is “an opportunity to recast our vision for an inclusive and equitable society that takes care of everyone, immigrants included. No matter where we’re from or how we got here, we all need access to testing, treatment, resources, and information to care for our families. And in a pandemic situation, an investment to protect the most vulnerable ultimately protects the broader community and hospital system as well.”

Read the full letter below.


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Federal Grant Will Expand Group’s Support for Immigrant Victims

CREDIT: Facebook/CasaLuz

Facebook/CasaLuz

CasaLuz holds a community meeting


A local organization received a grant this week to expand its services for victims of crimes here who are Hispanic and Latinx.

CasaLuz, an organization that works to prevent and reduce domestic violence and related crimes in the Spanish-speaking community, received the $199,986 grant from the United States Department of Justice’s Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) Monday.

CasaLuz provides free legal advocacy, safety planning, survivor support groups, liaison assistance with law enforcement, counseling, and community education. The group says it is the only organization in the region that provides culturally specific support.

Through a partnership with Mid-South Immigration Advocates (MIA) and Kaufman Monroe Law LLC, CasaLuz offers free immigration and civil legal services to victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking. The groups received a $600,000 grant from the Justice Department in September to support this work for three years.

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Over the next two years, the new federal grant will allow the groups to expand those services to victims of aggravated robbery, kidnapping, assault, human trafficking, hate crimes, and elder abuse, as well as loves ones of homicide victims and other violent crimes.

“These services help protect victims’ rights as they navigate the complex legal system in the aftermath of a traumatic event,” reads a statement from CasaLuz.

CaaaLuz founder Inés Negrette said Hispanic and Latinx victims of violence face “enormous barriers accessing suitable services. We need strong local partners like MIA and Kaufman Monroe Law to ensure access to justice and safety or our vulnerable clients.”

The federal grant was awarded under the OVC’s Enhancing Language and Other Access to Services Program, which seeks to “break down barriers that prevent many individuals from reporting crimes and accessing the services they need after crime victimization.”

A study done earlier this year and published in Criminology found that those living in areas that have recently drawn a large number of immigrants are much less likely to report a violent crime.

In neighborhoods where 10 percent of residents were born outside the U.S., the probability of reporting a violent crime is 48 percent, researchers said. In neighborhoods where 65 percent of residents are immigrants, the likelihood of a report being filed drops to 5 percent.


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Local Groups Get Federal Grant to Back Advocacy for Immigrant Victims

CREDIT: CasaLuz

CasaLuz

Inés Negrette, executive director of CasaLuz

Two Memphis organizations received a grant this week to support their advocacy work for Hispanic and Latinx victims of domestic violence and other crimes.

The United States Department of Justice on Violence Against Women awarded Mid-South Immigration Advocates (MIA) and CasaLuz a $600,000 grant to continue their work for three more years.

The organizations have been in partnership since 2016. Together the groups provide legal representation and victim advocacy to members of the Hispanic and Latinx who have experienced domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, or human trafficking.

CasaLuz, the only organization in the region that provides culturally specific victim support, spearheads the program.

Inés Negrette, executive director of CasaLuz, said the organization was founded in 2015 to meet the unique needs of Hispanic victims of abuse, who she said often face barriers to accessing services.

“Through this grant, our organizations help vulnerable clients break the cycle of abuse and move forward to lives free from violence,” Negrette said.

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Some of the work that the groups will continue to do under the grant include crisis intervention, assistance with reporting crimes to law enforcement, legal advocacy during criminal proceedings, counseling, support groups, and legal representation for matters such as child support, divorce, and custody.

Sally Joyner, executive director of MIA, said the group’s collaboration and work with CasaLuz is “essential for our community.” Even for people who have lived in the country their entire lives, Joyner said navigating the legal system can be difficult. But it’s even more challenging for the immigrant community. That’s why the groups work to prevent language and discrimination from serving as barriers to justice.

Joyner said undocumented victims of domestic violence with U.S. citizen spouses are often deterred from reporting incidents fearing their spouse will contact U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and ultimately, deportation.

The groups encourage victims to report violent crime to law enforcement, Joyner said, noting that the law provides avenues to citizenship for victims of crimes such as rape or aggravated assault, who cooperate with police.

“We get to give dignity and control back to our clients by telling them that they are not alone and that immigration law provides special pathways to legal status for abused spouses of U.S. citizens,” Joyner said.

Joyner said MIA works to ensure that its clients are able to remain in the country with their families without the fear of family separation and deportation.

“Many of our clients’ children are U.S. citizens,” Joyner said. “They are Memphians as much as we are, born and raised here. Our work sets these kids up for a stronger, more stable future so we will all benefit from a stronger, more stable Memphis.”

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MIA and CasaLuz, along with the Refugee Empowerment Program are teaming up to present a half-day training on the impact of domestic violence on the immigrant and refugee communities in the Mid-South.

The training, When Love Hurts: Domestic Violence Through an Immigrant and Refugee Lens, will help attendees understand the cultural aspects of domestic violence, the effect it has on children, and barriers to justice.

The training is scheduled for Friday, October 4th from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Caritas Community Center and Cafe. The event is open to the public, but registration is required. The training costs $15 to attend.