Domestic Violence Work at SILS: Advance Article

Last week, the Advance told the story of Maria, an
undocumented immigrant and victim of domestic violence who is receiving
legal assistance through Staten Island Legal Services' immigration
assistance program.

"Latina women feel that this treatment is normal," said Maria
through an interpreter in the offices of Staten Island Legal Services,
St. George. "It is common in Mexico for a man to hit a woman. My oldest
boy ran from the room when it was happening to me. That is not normal.
My two others saw it happening. That is not normal. I want women to
know that if they want to leave their situation, they can. It is
difficult, but you can do it. You may feel the world is closing in on
you, but there is another way."

That other way for Maria was contacting a Spanish-speaking social
worker she learned about through a story a friend read to her in the
Advance. Two months ago, that social worker led her to Legal Services,
where director and attorney Nancy Goldhill, social worker Claire McCue
and interpreter Christina Rivera have been helping Maria navigate the
court system and, because she is undocumented, assisting her in her
goal of attaining citizenship. She considers Staten Island her home and
wants to remain here.

Maria fled her homeland 15 years ago, with the man who would father
her three children, to seek a better life. They came to Staten Island
and have been living on the North Shore ever since. But the man, whom
she never married, beat her regularly, leaving her with ongoing health
problems. He also kept her isolated from anyone with whom she might
network or from whom she might gain assistance, including help with
learning English. He also terrified her by telling her that if she
sought help from the police, she would be deported and the children
taken from her.

Legally, as Maria now knows, neither is the case: The NYPD is not permitted to ask about an individual's immigration status.

There are now three separate orders of protection barring the man from coming near Maria and the children.

Read the rest of Maria's story here.