Over the years we have built up partnerships with a number of valued organisations with whom we work closely and collaboratively.
Since 2007, we have hosted a pro bono legal advice clinic, Oxford Legal Assistance, staffed by law students from Oxford University and aimed at those with immigration difficulties. At the clinic, which runs on Tuesday nights during term time, the students see clients, take instructions, identify the nature of the problem and assess eligibility for legal aid. This has been an invaluable and enriching experience for all involved, bringing together clients and student volunteers from different walks of life.
We also work with Oxford Brookes University in providing an internship programme for law postgraduates who have a particular interest in immigration law.
More recently, we have entered into an exciting partnership with the Bonavero Institute of Human Rights and the Centre for Criminology, an institute and a centre within the Faculty of Law at the University of Oxford. As part of this programme, we host Bonavero student Fellows, who assist us in delivering a legal aid clinic at HMP Huntercombe, a foreign national prison with a capacity for 480 adult prisoners, most of who are facing deportation. You can learn more about the Bonavero Institute Student Fellowship Programme here
For the last 10 years we have also provided legal advice to the Southampton and Winchester Visitors Group (SWVG) and many of their clients through the Legal Justice Project. SWVG is a charity assisting destitute migrants who are seeking to regularise their status. As part of that project, we deliver training and workshops to volunteers each year, as well as providing general and specific advice to the Group about the options available to their clients.
We have close links with Asylum Welcome, Refugee Resource and many other community groups assisting refugees and migrants within Oxford. We work with Local Authorities in Oxfordshire, Berkshire and beyond, assisting unaccompanied children and other vulnerable clients. We also work closely with domestic violence organisations and those assisting victims of Trafficking and Modern Slavery.
In Reading, our Housing team works in close partnership with Launchpad, a charity working to prevent homelessness, provide homes and rebuild lives.