Get Help

If you need assistance, contact Melanie Orhant, Break the Chain Campaign managing attorney at 202-787-5245.

Other organizations:

On this page: Support and counselling :: Ethnically-Based Organizations :: Legal Resources :: Legal Immigration Services :: Other Immigration Services :: Add resources to list

These groups also provide support, counseling, and also help you decide what to do and where to go.

Bread for the City
1525 7th Street NW
Washington, D.C. 20001
Tel: (202) 265-2400
Bread for the City provides food, clothing, medical care, legal and social services to low-income residents of Washington, D.C. Services are provided in English and Spanish.

CASA of Maryland
310 Tulip Avenue
Takoma Park, MD 20912
Tel: (301) 270-0442
CASA of Maryland provides a wide variety of services, including job placement, employment rights education, litigation and organizing resources, leadership development and English classes, HIV health education and peer-to-peer training. Services are provided in English and Spanish.

Catholic Charities - Hogar Hispano
Gracie Ortiz, Social Services Program Director
6201 Leesburg Pike, Suite 307
Falls Church, VA 22044
Tel: (703) 534-9805
Catholic Charities - Hogar Hispano provides emergency assistance, a job bank information program, an English as a Second Language program, as well as referrals for all types of social services. Services are provided in English and Spanish.

El Centro Catolico Hispano,
The Spanish Catholic Center
Mount Pleasant Branch
1618 Monroe Street, NW
Washington, D.C. 20010
Medical Clinic: (202) 939-2400
Dental Clinic: (202) 939-2402
Social Services: (202) 939-2400
Immigration Services: (202) 939-2404
Employment Services: (202) 939-2426

Langley Park Branch:
1015 University Blvd. East
Silver Spring, MD 20903
Medical Clinic: (301) 434-3999
Social, Employment and Immigration Services: (301) 431-3773

Gaithersburg Branch:
117 North Fredrick Avenue
Gaithersburg, MD 20877
Tel: (301) 417-9113
The Spanish Catholic Center provides a variety of services, including immigration, medical, and social services, employment counseling, and translation assistance. Services are provided in both English and Spanish.

Ethnically-Based Organizations: Contact these groups for help and support from people of your same ethnicity in the D.C. metropolitan area.

Ethiopian Community Development Council
Washington, D.C. office:
Salah Hannad
2437 15th Street, NW
Washington, D.C. 20009
Tel: (202) 483-0780

Arlington office:
Aster Gebremarium, Outreach Coordinator
Laake Tesfaye, Community Advocate
1038 South Highland Street
Arlington, VA 22204
Tel: (703) 685-0510
The Ethiopian Community Development Council provides limited temporary shelter, interpretation and translation services, information and referral services, and limited legal services. Services are provided in English, Amharic, Tigrigna, Somali, Arabic, Yoruba, Spanish and Albanian.

Philippine-American Legal Assistance and Defense Fund
Severina Rivera
c/o Drew & Rivera, P.C.
1322 18th Street, NW Suite 300
Washington, D.C. 20036
Tel: (202) 331-8487
PALAD provides legal advice and/or representation on issues of employment, discrimination, wage disputes and other civil rights issues. Services are provided in Filipino (Tagalog), English, and Spanish.

Shared Communities
PO Box 65672
Washington, D.C. 20035
Tel: (202) 462-7012
Shared Communities’ goal is to improve the quality of life of Asian/Pacific migrant and contract workers through education and development of self-confidence and independence. Shared Communities provides referrals to legal assistance, counseling on domestic workers’ rights, temporary shelter, and training classes.

Legal Resources: Contact these groups if you are in need of legal assistance.

AYUDA, Inc.
1736 Columbia Road, NW
Washington, D.C. 20009
Tel: (202) 387-4848
AYUDA, Inc. provides legal services to the low-income, foreign-born population of the DC metropolitan area in the areas of immigration and domestic violence. AYUDA also sponsors "Sisters United," a bi-weekly support group that provides education and empowerment, as well as weekly English classes. On Mondays starting at 9:00 AM, AYUDA sponsors a walk-in clinic where, for $10.00, you can receive legal advice on immigration. Services are provided in English, Spanish, and French.

Bread for the City & Zacchaeus Free Clinic
1525 7th Street NW
Washington, D.C. 20001
Tel: (202) 265-2400
The Zacchaeus Free Clinic provides legal and social services to low-income residents of Washington, D.C. Services are provided in both English and Spanish.

CASA of Maryland
734 University Blvd East
Silver Spring, MD 20903
Tel: (301) 431-4185
CASA of Maryland provides litigation and organizing resources. CASA’s legal office provides free legal services to workers. CASA’s domestic workers project recruits and trains domestic workers to work as peer-to-peer rights promoters. Services are provided in English and Spanish.

Columbus Community Legal Services
3602 John McCormack Rd., NE
Washington, D.C. 20064
Tel: (202) 319-6780
Columbus Community Legal Services provides legal services to low-income residents of the District of Columbia. CCLS attorneys and law students represent individuals on a diverse range of civil matters such as family law, child support, child custody, domestic violence, public benefits and special education. Services are provided in English and Spanish.

D.C. Employment Justice Center
P.O. Box 65883
Washington, D.C. 20035
Tel: (202) 659-9589
The D.C. Workers’ Rights Project provides free legal advice to low-income D.C. residents with D.C.-based employment problems. Services are provided in English, Spanish, Russian, and French.

The Law Foundation of Prince George’s County
P.O. Box 329
Hyattsville, MD 20781
Tel: (301) 864-8353
The Law Foundation provides free legal advice and representation in almost all civil matters to indigent and low-income persons through the Pro Bono project. Cases include contract defense and other legal matters. Services are provided in English and Spanish.

Metropolitan Women’s Organizing Project,
Working Women’s Hotline
P.O. Box 65883
Washington, D.C. 20035
Tel: (202) 659-9372
The Working Women’s Hotline provides information and referral for women with work-related problems or questions. It is open Monday through Friday from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Services are provided in English and Spanish.

Legal Immigration Services

Asylum and Refugee Rights Project of the Washington Lawyers’ Committee for
Civil Rights and Urban Affairs
Ruth Spivack, Outreach Coordinator
11 Dupont Circle, NW
Washington, D.C. 20036
Tel: (202) 319-1000
The Asylum and Refugee Rights Project provides pro bono representation for cases dealing with political asylum. Services are provided in English and Spanish.

Catholic Immigration Services
1815 H Street, NW, Suite 500
Washington, D.C. 20006
Tel: (202) 466-6611
Catholic Immigration Services helps clients with cases involving the following: attaining permanent residence, naturalization, political asylum, suspension of deportation, work authorization, and other immigrant matters. Catholic Immigration Services also translates official documents. Services are provided in Spanish and English.

Tahirih Justice Center
108 North Virginia Avenue, Suite 100
Falls Church, VA 22046
Tel: (703) 237-4554
The Tahirih Justice Center provides legal services for immigrants and refugees fleeing gender based human rights abuses. Tahirih primarily serves refugee women seeking asylum. Services are provided in English, French, and possibly Spanish.
Shelters and Domestic Violence Programs
Contact these groups if you were physically or sexually abused, or if you need a place to stay.

Citywide Domestic Violence Hotline
(202) 333-STOP
Call the Citywide Hotline if you are experiencing domestic violence. Services are provided in a wide variety of languages.
House of Ruth, Emergency Shelter

Sharon Winget
651 10th Street, NE
Washington, D.C. 20002
Tel: (202) 547-2600
House of Ruth provides emergency shelter for single adult homeless women in D.C. Services are available for women at risk of physical or sexual abuse, or who have been evicted from their homes.

My Sister’s Place, A Shelter for Battered Women and their Children
PO Box 29596
Washington, D.C. 20017
Abuse Hotline: (202) 529-5991
My Sister’s Place provides safe, confidential shelter, education and advocacy for battered women and children. My Sister’s Place accepts women with or without children, and provides services in English and Spanish.

Other Immigration Services: Contact these after contacting the groups above, if you are in need of help with repatriation or gaining asylum status.

International Organization for Migration
Lauren Engle
1752 N Street, NW 7th Floor
Washington, D.C. 20036
Tel: (202) 862-1826
For migrant workers in the United States wishing to return to their home countries, the International Organization for Migration can facilitate their passage through the Global Assisted Travel program, which sells discounted one way fares to persons with a demonstrated need of international travel assistance. Services are provided in English, Spanish, and French.

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees,
Washington Office
1775 K Street NW, Suite 300
Washington, D.C. 20006
Tel: (202) 296-5191
UNHCR assists refugees and those seeking asylum who fear persecution if returned to their home countries. They provide lawyer referrals, self-help materials, and country condition information. Services are provided in several languages, including English, Spanish, French, Farsi, Arabic, and others. Ask for one of the attorneys when you call.

Add your resources to this list