Grant awarded to Catholic Charities of Northern Nevada (CCSN)

The Foundation is pleased to support CCSN’s Immigration Assistance Program.

The Immigration Assistance Program (IAP) provides high quality, low cost or pro bono immigration services for foreign-born individuals and their families who seek to obtain or extend lawful immigration status, or who are seeking citizenship in the United States. Consultation is provided to determine eligibility, and provide assistance with nearly all affirmative immigration matters. This includes but is not limited to: processes such as Naturalization/U.S. Citizenship; Family-Based Petitions; applications for Lawful Permanent Resident status (as well as renewals and replacements) and employment authorization/work permit applications and renewals. In 2019, 52.78% of the cases opened by IAP were with women. 69.6% were from Mexico and the remaining 30.4% from 31 other countries around the world. The grant will help fund the portion of the IAP budget not covered by state and federal grants. Historically CCSN has funded IAP with income from their thrift stores, but vastly increased demand is leading to long wait times, even for urgent cases, and more funding is needed. Funds will be spent from July 1, 2020 to June 30, 2021. Funds will help make a sustainable difference by serving clients who desperately want and need to establish recognition of their legal right to live and work in this country, and clients who serve a vital role in their local community. Clients served will be brave, resourceful women who have taken a risk of leaving their homes and loved ones, to build a better life for their families.

To measure success, data collection and recording are performed by their immigration specialists, who enter records into relevant tracking systems. With the use of E-Immigration, a nationally recognized, cloud-based tracking system, staff can evaluate client progress and program effectiveness.

Catholic Charities of Northern Nevada is dedicated to providing support to those in need in the Reno/Sparks community as well as across rural Nevada. They help people of all cultures and beliefs rise up out of poverty and overcome the barriers to self-sufficiency. They do this through a broad range of services, including food resources, case management, and residential programs. On average, over 20,000 individuals receive support from them on a monthly basis.