Civil Legal Aid for Victims of Crime
SCCLS has special funding from the Massachusetts Office for Victim Assistance (MOVA) to help victims of crime with civil matters relating to the crime. Victims of domestic violence, sexual abuse and other crimes are often left with significant civil legal needs beyond those addressed by the criminal justice system. If you are a victim of crime which is connected, directly or indirectly, to the civil legal matter for which you are seeking assistance, we may be able to help.
Issues our CLAVC staff can help you address:
- Family law matters including divorce, child custody and abuse prevention orders
- Landlord/tenant problems and other housing issues
- Immigration
- Access to public benefits including health insurance and disability benefits
- Consumer fraud
- Assistance accessing the education system if your child is victimized at school
- Wage theft
Sara’s Story
Sara obtained an abuse prevention order directing her former partner to stay away and to refrain from abusing her. Sara’s original order was only for 6 months, but she remained very afraid of him as the expiration of the order approached. With the help of our attorney, Sara obtained an extension of the order for an additional 2 years.
