The Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Project (DVSA) is a statewide project of Legal Aid of North Carolina that provides legal assistance to victims of domestic violence. DVSA advocates are trained to keep victims safe and help them become self-sufficient so they can live independently from their abusers.
DVSA advocates work closely with community-based programs, agencies and task forces serving victims of domestic violence. The DVSA has existing formal collaborative agreements and referral protocols with more than 60 domestic violence victim services organizations throughout the state, and informal working relationships with at least 20 others. The DVSA also partners with the University of North Carolina School of Law by training and supervising law students in its Domestic Violence Clinic.
Legal Aid of North Carolina receives funding for domestic violence work from a Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) grant to provide emergency-only services, such as obtaining and enforcing protection orders. LANC also receives funding for domestic violence work from the State of North Carolina.
The DVSA also operates Immigration Pathways for Victims, which provides comprehensive and culturally appropriate legal services to immigrant survivors of violence needing assistance with immigration.
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If you wish to contact Legal Aid NC for disaster-related legal issues, call our Helpline:
Free help for immigrants who are victims of domestic violence. Learn more: IMMPAV.
Our intake line is available for low-income immigrant victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, and human trafficking who are seeking free immigration assistance.
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Immigration Pathways for Victims (IMMPAV), part of our Domestic Violence Prevention Initiative, provides free immigration assistance to immigrant survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, and human trafficking. IMMPAV represents qualifying applicants across North Carolina in immigration matters including:
Self-Petitions and Petitions to Remove Conditions for victims of domestic violence who are married to (or recently divorced from) U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents who abuse them
U Visas for victims of domestic violence, sexual assault and human trafficking
T Visas for victims of human trafficking
Applications to Adjust Status (to become a permanent resident) for self-petitioners, U visa holders, and T visa holders
Removal defense for qualifying victims of domestic violence, sexual assault and human trafficking
IMMPAV attorneys work with domestic violence, sexual assault, human trafficking, and immigrant rights advocates across the state to provide them with information about the rights of immigrant victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, and human trafficking. Through the DVPI, staff in local LANC offices, as resources allow, represent immigrant survivors in legal matters such as:
Jessica Alatorre is a Staff Attorney with Legal Aid of North Carolina’s IMMPAV Project. Before joining Legal Aid of NC in 2023, Jessica worked at an immigration law firm in Charlotte, NC for six years. Jessica obtained her Bachelor of Liberal Arts with a focus in international human rights from Bennington College in 2007 and her J.D. from American University’s Washington College of Law in 2014. She is fluent in Spanish.
Leah Arnold is a Senior Staff Attorney with Legal Aid of North Carolina’s IMMPAV Project where she has worked since 2015. Leah obtained her B.S. in Journalism with a certificate in Latin American Studies from the University of Florida in 2011, and her J.D. with a graduate certificate in global transmigration studies from the UNC-Chapel Hill School of Law in 2015. She is fluent in Spanish.
Anna Cushman is a Staff Attorney within Legal Aid of North Carolina’s IMMPAV Project. Before coming to Legal Aid of NC in 2019, Anna worked at a small immigration law firm in Greensboro, NC for six years. Anna obtained her B.A. in Political Science and Spanish from Wake Forest University in 2008 and her J.D. from Campbell Law School in 2012. She is a Board-Certified Specialist in Immigration Law and is fluent in Spanish.
Patricia Dykstra-Lalangui is a paralegal with Legal Aid of North Carolina’s IMMPAV Project where she has worked since 2005. Patty obtained her degree in Business Administration from Miami Dade College in 2002 and her NC paralegal certification in 2007. She is fluent in Spanish.
Amanda Hinnant is the Supervising Attorney of Legal Aid of North Carolina’s IMMPAV Project. Before coming to Legal Aid of NC in 2010, Amanda worked as an elementary school teacher prior to attending law school. She obtained her B.A. in Elementary Education from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2005 and her J.D. from Charlotte School of Law in 2010. She is fluent in Spanish.
Rona Karacaova is the Managing Attorney of Legal Aid of North Carolina’s IMMPAV Project. Before coming to Legal Aid of NC in 2002, Rona worked with Connecticut Legal Services for three years and Legal Services of Southern Piedmont for one year. Rona obtained her B.A. in International Relations from Tufts University in 1993 and her J.D. from UNC-Chapel Hill School of Law in 1998. She is fluent in Turkish and proficient in Spanish and French.
Dora MacDonald is a paralegal and Department of Justice Board of Immigration Appeals Accredited Representative with Legal Aid of North Carolina’s IMMPAV Project, where she has worked since 2008. Dora obtained her law degree from Libre University in Colombia in 1998 and her paralegal certification from Penn State University in 2007. She is fluent in Spanish.
TeAndra M. Miller is a Managing Attorney and the Statewide Director for Legal Aid of North Carolina’s Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Project. TeAndra has worked with Legal Aid of NC since 1994. She obtained her B.S. in Communications from the University of Iowa, a Certificate in Non-Profit Management from Duke University, and her J.D. from North Carolina Central University School of Law.
Jalal Nadimi is a paralegal and Department of Justice Board of Immigration Appeals Accredited Representative with Legal Aid of North Carolina’s IMMPAV Project, where she has worked since 2013. Jalal obtained her law degree from La Universidad Católica de Santa Maria in Arequipa, Peru in 1994. She is fluent in Spanish.
Cara Palmer is a Staff Attorney with Legal Aid of North Carolina’s IMMPAV Project, where she has worked since 2020. Cara obtained her B.A. in History with a minor in Human Rights from the University of Southern California in 2013, her M.A. in History and a Graduate Certificate in Human Rights from the University of Connecticut in 2015, and her J.D. and a Refugees and Humanitarian Emergencies Certificate from Georgetown University Law Center in 2020. She is fluent in Spanish.
Jennifer Robinson is a Senior Staff Attorney with Legal Aid of North Carolina’s IMMPAV Project where she has worked since 2016. Jennifer obtained her B.A. in Women’s & Gender Studies from Dartmouth College in 2011 and her J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center in 2015. She is fluent in Spanish.
Heather Ziemba is a Staff Attorney with Legal Aid of North Carolina’s IMMPAV Project, where she has worked since 2022. Prior to coming to Legal Aid of NC, Heather founded and managed the Immigrant Justice Program at Charlotte Center for Legal Advocacy and was also in private practice as an immigration attorney. Heather obtained her A.B. in political science from Duke University in 1993 and her J.D. from Vanderbilt University School of Law in 1996. She is a Board-Certified Specialist in Immigration Law and is fluent in Spanish.
RALEIGH—Legal Aid of North Carolina has launched the StopTheCycleNC campaign to raise awareness of the key role legal representation plays in ending the cycle of abuse for victims of domestic violence, sexual assault and human trafficking, as well as seniors who have experienced financial exploitation. StopTheCycleNC.org educates users about what constitutes abuse, assault and exploitation, and the legal resources and support available to help victims break free from their abusers. From StopTheCycleNC.org, victims can call Legal Aid NC for help or connect to Legal Aid NC’s online application to start the intake process. Digital and radio advertising will start later this month and run through the holidays, when reports of abuse are known to increase. For more information, visit StopTheCycleNC.org.
Abuse, assault and exploitation can take many different forms, victimizing someone of any race, age, gender, sexuality, religion, education level or economic status. Victims are often repeatedly abused by an intimate partner, exploited by someone they trust or trapped in inhumane or illegal conditions at jobs they need for income. Escaping an abusive situation can become complicated between family members, for example, when the abuser is an intimate partner and children are involved, or when someone who holds power of attorney is using their position to defraud an elderly relative. Victims are even more reluctant to take action when they do not understand their rights, have little support and lack financial resources.
Rooted in more than 40 years of experience, Legal Aid NC has provided legal assistance to any victim of domestic violence, sexual assault and human trafficking, regardless of income or immigration status. Through its Senior Law Project, Legal Aid NC helps senior citizens who have been financially exploited. Legal Aid NC also helps clients with unemployment and government benefits, access to housing and family law services for child custody issues.
“When victims are finally ready to stop the cycle of victimization, Legal Aid NC is a partner in empowerment,” said TeAndra Miller, project manager of Legal Aid NC’s Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Project. “Our process may start with helping them obtain a protective order or legal document to protect their assets and children, but we go far beyond with services that can help them achieve stability and a path to independence.”
As an independent organization, Legal Aid NC is not affiliated with the government, district attorney offices or social services. They can help any North Carolina resident regardless of where they live, even if there is no Legal Aid NC office near them. Legal Aid NC’s ability to help victims is not impacted by the pandemic, or whether or not courts are open.
Legal Aid NC’s Stop the Cycle campaign and the services it promotes are funded in part by the Governor’s Crime Commission, the chief advisory body on crime and justice issues to North Carolina’s Governor and Secretary of Public Safety.
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Legal Aid of North Carolina is a statewide, nonprofit law firm that provides free legal services in civil matters to low-income people in order to ensure equal access to justice and to remove legal barriers to economic opportunity. Learn more at legalaidnc.org. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube. Need legal help? Call 1-866-219-5262 (toll-free) or apply online.
Media contact: Sean Driscoll, Director of Public Relations, 919-856-2132, seand@legalaidnc.org
