The Open Community launched a Free Legal Advice Panel which is coordinated in partnership with PILA and is composed of four leading Irish law firms- A&L Goodbody, Arthur Cox, Mason, Hayes & Curran and Matheson who are available to offer free legal advice to families or community sponsorship groups (CSG) at any point throughout the sponsorship journey.
Community Sponsorship is a unique opportunity for communities to welcome refugee families arriving in Ireland and help them rebuild their lives. It is a positive and tangible way to respond to the refugee crisis, mobilising the skills, resources and compassion of individuals and groups to change the life of a refugee family. However, this is a large challenge with many complexities and variety of needs, as well as the number of supports that CSGs are expected to provide to the family, CSGs and/or the family may encounter issues that require legal advice and guidance at any point throughout the 18-month sponsorship period.
Issues that may arise as CSGs plan for the arrival or after the arrival of the sponsored family or individual could include areas such as: housing rights, social welfare, family law, immigration, and employment rights but this is not an exhaustive list as the legal needs that arise are likely to be varied and dependent on the specific circumstances of the CSG and/or resettled family.
The panel will provide a highly valuable resource and essential safeguard for Ireland’s community sponsorship programme. The Community Sponsorship Legal Panel is hosted through The Open Community and the referral forms and further information can be found here- Free Legal Advice Panel - the open community