The Door – A Center of Alternatives, Inc., New York City

The Foundation has provided grants to The Door for its immigrant youth program which provided legal advocacy, representation and education to undocumented immigrant youth ranging in age from 12 to 21. The Door’s Legal services Center worked on a total of 252 immigrant youth cases in 2006, including 112 cases closed and 140 cases opened. The Center also served over 450 immigrant youth through educational workshops and peer training, and provided professional training to over 700 youth workers and lawyers.
Funding from The Foundation has allowed the Door to continue to provide a range of civil legal services, including know-your-rights workshops, peer training, individual representation for immigration relief and impact reform. The Door serves young people from all five boroughs of New York City.

The Door’s Legal Services Center was established in 1992 to address the crucial lack of free legal assistance for youth in New York City. The Center provides a broad range of counsel and advocacy services in civil matters to young people between the ages of 12 and 21. This highly vulnerable population often has no voice and The Center attempts to provide one through representation in a wide variety of civil legal issues. Cases may be pursued through federal and state courts and in administrative hearings. Most of the cases involve family law issues, immigration matters, public benefits issues and employment matters. Services are provided through individual counsel, advocacy, and/or representation.