The Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University has opened a new office for the Pace Women’s Justice Center. The 4,000-square-foot office space, which was the former Student Life Center on the Pace Law School Campus, will include a new walk-in legal clinic and will allow the center to serve as many as 500 more clients a year.
PWJC is the leading civil legal services and training provider addressing domestic violence, sexual assault and elder abuse in Westchester and Putnam counties, providing free legal help to thousands each year who would otherwise not be able to afford representation. The new $1.5 million office space was funded by Pace University and private donors, including a $100,000 grant from Impact 100 Westchester.
“Pace University has always been dedicated to helping people and changing lives,” said Marvin Krislov, president of Pace. “The Pace Women’s Justice Center at the Elisabeth Haub School of Law does the important work of serving as a much-needed resource for some of the most vulnerable in our community. With this new center, I’m very pleased that we’ll be able to help even more families.”
PWJC currently serves more than 3,000 clients per year. It is moving from a small space adjacent to the Pace Law campus that was not sufficient to meet the growing numbers of survivors who are in need of their services. PWJC’s attorneys assist women in and out of the courtroom, helping them to obtain orders of protection, custody of their children, child support and divorces.
PWJC also trains social service providers and police officers across the region in how to handle cases of abuse.
Cindy Kanusher, executive director of PWJC, said the clinic would be the first of its kind in Westchester and Putnam providing free legal services without an appointment in a warm and welcoming space, to victims of domestic violence, sexual assault and elder abuse. She said the clinic would be a safe alternative to PWJC’s satellite offices in the White Plains and Yonkers courthouses for clients who are afraid to go to court.
Many victims fear facing their abuser in the courtroom, and immigrant victims are often afraid of the judicial system and deportation. PWJC serves clients without regard to immigration status.
“Domestic Violence, sexual assault and elder abuse are pervasive problems that affect communities all over the country, including ours,” said Kanusher. “The explosion of the #MeToo Campaign demonstrates the need for the Pace Women’s Justice Center’s walk-in clinic; more victims of abuse are speaking out and needing help and the clinic will remove obstacles that many victims face when coming forward. We know that the opening of this clinic will save lives. We will give people the critical help they need to feel safe, and we will be at their side every step of the way throughout the legal process.”
“The Pace Women’s Justice Center’s walk-in clinic will provide much-need guidance and assistance to hundreds more survivors every year,” added Congresswoman Nita Lowey. “The families who will be served by this clinic deserve justice and to live their lives in safety, and PWJC will help make that a reality, as it has for so many others in our community. I am grateful for the work that PWJC does, and look forward to continuing to fight alongside them on behalf of survivors of abuse.
