Naomi Y. Cordova joins the VPLC team as the new Legal Assistant for the Legal Assistance to Victim-Immigrants of Domestic Abuse (LA VIDA) program. Naomi brings a wealth of experience in immigration law and a diverse skill set to VPLC. Naomi has a robust legal background, with many years of client communication, legal documentation, translation, […]

Richmond, VA June 21, 2024 – Today, the Supreme Court of the United States delivered a ruling in the case of USA vs Rahimi, upholding the constitutionality of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(8), which prohibits individuals subject to domestic-violence restraining orders from possessing firearms. This case originated in Texas, highlighting the state’s pivotal role in shaping […]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 14, 2022 Virginia Poverty Law Center and Legal Aid Justice Center state that Governor Youngkin’s vetoes of Del. Clark’s HB573 and Sen. Deeds’ SB297 have derailed critical, popular, and thoughtfully crafted bipartisan consumer debt reforms for thousands upon thousands of Virginians. Richmond, VA – Outstanding bills for medical treatment are one […]

This was a busy week at the General Assembly for VPLC advocates. We often must try and follow bills being heard in two or even three committees that meet at the same time! Please encourage your legislators to do the right thing and publicly praise them when they do. Below, an update on some of our issues […]

The 2022 General Assembly is off and running, with 1,938 House and Senate bills filed — and more expected to come. Our advocates are dealing with a lot of change this year: a new Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, members in the House of Delegates, and committee chairs. But among the change, one thing remains […]

In honor of Domestic Violence Awareness Month, this post comes from VPLC’s Domestic and Sexual Violence Attorney, Susheela Varky. Imagine you have to go to court — whether it’s to pursue your own case against someone who has wronged you or because you’ve received a subpoena to appear as a witness in a case. Most […]

When the General Assembly convened for a special 2021 session, we urged lawmakers to prioritize Virginians hit hardest by the pandemic with a budget focused on equity. Not all of our priorities were funded, but we will continue to push for these in the state’s next budget. Below, here’s how our recommended budget priorities fared […]

The Virginia General Assembly will convene in Richmond on Monday, August 2 for a special legislative session to allocate more than $4.3 billion in federal relief funding and fill judicial vacancies. The remaining $4.3 billion comes from the American Rescue Plan Act, which has provided essential relief to millions of American workers – many of […]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 1, 2021 The suite of new laws will protect tenants, help families with food assistance, expand health coverage, protect consumers, and more. Richmond, VA – Effective today, several new laws in the Commonwealth will benefit hundreds of thousands of low-income Virginians. The new laws include better protections for tenants, expansion of […]

In honor of Sexual Assault Awareness Month, we are featuring a blog post from Susheela Varky, Staff Attorney for Domestic and Sexual Violence at the Virginia Poverty Law Center (VPLC). To learn more, visit the National Sexual Violence Resource Center. Recently, I held a virtual training for advocates about the types of services VPLC provides to […]

Today, hundreds of new laws that passed during this year’s General Assembly go into effect, from new landlord-tenant laws to foster care reform. Here are a few to note. Other New Laws Related to VPLC Focus Areas Medicaid and Mental Health: An adopted budget increases reimbursements for Medicaid primary care physicians and licensed mental health […]

Alicia* was getting ready to have nursing school graduation pictures taken when she got a call from VPLC.  “Don’t make me cry!” she squealed with delight.  After waiting 10 long years, she’d been granted her green card, or Lawful Permanent Resident status. Alicia and her mother came to VPLC in 2011, when she was just […]

With another General Assembly session behind us and the dust settled after this month’s veto session, here is a review of what occurred during the 2019 legislative session. This year brought several wins—foster care reform, fairer laws for tenants in the wake of a report detailing Virginia’s high eviction rates, and the end of driver’s […]

April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM). To learn more, visit the National Sexual Violence Resource Center. Ana* met her husband online through a Christian dating website. He was charming, handsome, and seemed to adore her when they first met. After they married, all that changed. Her husband became manipulative, jealous, and controlling. He began […]

April is National Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM). This year’s theme for SAAM is “I Ask,” championing the message that asking for consent is a healthy, normal, and necessary part of everyday interactions. Sexual Assault is Widespread Nearly one in five women in the US have experienced rape or attempted rape at some point in […]

Tuesday, February 5, 2019, was “Crossover Day” in the General Assembly—the last day for bills to be heard in the Senate or House of Delegates before crossing over to the other chamber for review. Check out our 2019 Crossover Report to learn more about the bills we support, oppose, and monitor. Take Action! We need your help […]

To intimidate their victims and deter them from seeking help or court protection, abusers sometimes use the justice system as a weapon by filing lawsuits alleging defamation and other wrongdoing by the victims. Such lawsuits are called “strategic lawsuits against public participation”— or SLAPP suits — and are filed because the abuser believes that the […]

One of our Summer of 2018 interns, Katie Cantone, wrote the following about her experience with our LA VIDA program.  Thank you, Katie!   I am a Spanish major at the University of Virginia, where I’m now entering my third year. Through my studies, I’ve felt pulled toward a career in social justice and have […]