Legal Help for Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault, Stalking, and Dating Violence Survivors: Georgia Legal Nonprofits Unite to Create georgiavictimnetwork.org
On February 12, 2021, the Georgia Victim Legal Assistance Network (VLAN) announced a new website connecting crime victims with information and free civil legal assistance across Georgia. This website will allow victims to learn about their rights and connect with resources or legal representation. Established using federal funds secured by the Georgia Criminal Justice Coordinating Council (CJCC), the Georgia Victim Legal Assistance Network provides information about legal and community resources for victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, and dating violence.
CJCC partnered with Georgia Asylum and Immigration Network (GAIN), Atlanta Legal Aid Society (ALAS), Atlanta Volunteer Lawyers Network (AVLF), Georgia Legal Services Program (GLSP), and Pro Bono Net to create the website to assist crime victims. Civil legal resources can be scarce or difficult to access in rural and urban communities. The website features a user-friendly screening tool that allows crime victims to identify their legal needs and then locate relevant resources. The website has a searchable legal service help directory with filters to isolate organizations that can assist with specific issues and a self-help resource library to inform victims of their rights.
The website’s screening tool and legal help directory will help connect crime victims in Georgia’s 159 counties with advocates and non-profit legal organizations that may be able to assist them. Crime victims can use the website to find information about their rights, learn more about their legal issues, and access resources such as legal forms and links to other service providers.
Georgia’s VLAN website focuses on the most common civil legal problems identified by crime victims and service providers including, family, immigration, financial, and housing matters.
Georgia’s VLAN network also uses navigators with the four main civil legal agency partners as advocates who can assist crime victims using the website. The federal Office of Victims of Crime provided funding through the Georgia Criminal Justice Coordinating Council (CJCC) to create the website and to provide Navigators for the project.
This project is supported by federal award no. 2018-V2-GX-0066 awarded by the Office for Victims of Crime and administered by the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council. The opinions, findings, conclusions, and recommendations expressed on this website are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Department of Justice, Office for Victims of Crime or the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council.
Learn more at https://georgiavictimnetwork.org/
