“Empowering Immigrants, Building Futures”
At Rivas & Associates we go beyond legal services. The Community Advocacy department offers an array of services and resources to our clients and the broader community. These include: accompaniment to state agencies, practical information and know your rights training, and a comprehensive referral system and resource guide. For example, we will accompany clients to the department of motor vehicles for help in navigating the SAVE program, to the Social Security administration to apply for a social security card for the first time; and to traffic court to pay a fine. The Community Advocate also prepares power of attorney letters for Standby Guardianship and for Property and Other Assets. Our comprehensive referral system/resource guide includes directing calls to crucial resources such as mental health support, therapy and counseling, food assistance, no-barrier shelters, health care and more. At Rivas and Associates we see our clients and community in a holistic way. To us, our mission of “empowering immigrants, building futures” goes beyond adjusting legal status to include resources, information and when needed physical accompaniment.
Some of the available resources clients and the broader community can access through the Community Advocate at Rivas and Associates include:
- A Practical Guide for Immigrants During Uncertain times: This includes understanding basic rights; proper documentation to carry; updates on immigration policy; and how to connect to community networks and resources.
- Preparedness Plan during an Immigration Emergency: We prepare notarized Standby Guardianship letters for families with children under 18 years of age, power of attorney forms for travel authorization for minors, as well as power of attorney letters for property and other assets.
- Red Cards and Know Your Rights: We have Know Your Rights cards available in 4 languages including Spanish, Hmong, Vietnamese and Arabic.
- Resource Guides: Rivas and Associates has built partnerships in Tulsa and Oklahoma City with churches, non-profits and other community groups to direct individuals to food distribution centers, mental health and counseling groups, general referrals, health care providers and other no-ID barrier organizations. When we refer clients, we have done our own vetting to ensure our referrals are safe and trustworthy.
- Know your Rights (KYR) training on what to do if ICE comes to your school or place of employment. These KYR trainings are offered free of charge and can be conducted in English or Spanish.
- A video library with practical information for navigating state agencies: The Community Advocate offers short information videos in Spanish on how to navigate the SAVE program at DMV, how to apply for a REAL ID, how to apply for a US passport for USC children, how to apply for a social security card once you have received an employment authorization card and more!
- Accompaniment to state agencies (for Tulsa clients only). If a client makes a special request to be accompanied to a state agency for help with interpreting and to properly understanding next steps, we can do that!
- A monthly Advocacy Blog Post: These blog posts offer practical information to clients and the broader community. Some recent topics include: Avoiding scams and attorney/ government impersonators; and how to apply for a social security number when you have been authorized to work.
- Developing Community Partnerships: As community advocates, we spend time meeting with community leaders to build relationships, trust and gain (and offer) valuable information and insight. Recently we have met with the following: Sheriff of Tulsa County; Executive Director of La Cosecha; staff at Youth Serices of Tulsa; staff at Tulsa Dream Center; researcher at OK Policy Institute; attended Community Conversations with the City of Tulsa Mayor’s office and more!!
- Downloadable Power of Attorney forms in English and Spanish for residents of Oklahoma. (We can upload these forms to the website). At Rivas and Associates we will notarize PoA forms for free. These include: Standby Guardianship: Travel Authorization for Minors: Power of Attorney for Property and other Assets.
