Client Stories: Betsy
As the IRC's 10 year anniversary approaches, we reflect upon the long-term impact we have had on the lives of our clients, as we continue to provide services and accompaniment of families whose cases may take years to resolve.
One such person, Betsy, came to us during the height of the pandemic, asking for assistance in leaving her abusive spouse. She had two special-needs, U.S. citizen children who left the home with her, and all had become housing insecure as they lost their financial support. Through our partnership with the California Community Foundation, we were able to provide her with rental assistance. Through the help of Mountainside’s Compassionate Action committee, we were able to keep the family housed for longer once the initial funding ran out. We applied for a U Visa (a special visa for victim/survivors of violent crime and domestic partner abuse) and set up a plan for Betsy to eventually gain her legal status. But Betsy did not have work authorization and would not until the U Visa finished processing for many years. She could not take advantage of other social programs, she fell into homelessness and moved from shelter to shelter for the next two years, all the while her children continued to deal with the trauma of an abusive household and the instability of insecure housing and shifting school districts. Worse, Betsy’s son was diagnosed with a bone disorder that required corrective surgery, which became difficult as the doctor recommended stable housing to be obtained beforehand.
Our long term legal volunteer Julia assisted Betsy by filing our first expedite request for a U Visa application, citing the intense financial and medical needs of the family, and we were able to secure our first approval, despite having to argue that Betsy needed to be placed in the front of a line that included other survivors of serious crimes. She obtained her work authorization and was able to secure work with a homeless shelter, and immediately started advocating for other people in financially insecure situations, sending us referrals and helping other immigrants gather documents that they would need to apply for benefits. She has referred several people to our office and has prepared them for their initial consultations with us. Furthermore, her children have received the medical treatment recommended to them and have reached the most stable point in their lives in the last 4 years.
It fills us with hope to see the lives of our clients transformed over time and gives us great joy to see them empowered to not only provide for themselves and their families, but to become helpers within their own communities. We were privileged to journey with Betsy to see her progress over several years, and imagine that countless others that we have served in the past are making similar strides now.