At Rising for Justice, we seek to innovate sustainable solutions to problems of justice and equity.

The social work division at Rising for Justice is built on the idea that by providing holistic services to clients, we can achieve more sustainable results. Our social work team partners with clients and their attorneys to assess clients for potential benefits, determine what services in the community may help, and support clients through the stressful process of walking through their legal cases.

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Modeled after our nationally-recognized legal clinic, Rising for Justice’s social work program harnesses the energy and skills of social work students pursuing their Master of Social Work (M.S.W.) degree in order to multiply our impact, with a focus on:

• Identifying clients who may be able to obtain additional benefits;
• Assessing clients to help determine what supports in the community exist and helping them connect to those services;
• Providing short-term case management;
• Offering emotional support to clients going through the stressful process of litigating their cases;
• Providing crises management for those whose stressful time has become unmanageable; and
• Giving support and guidance to the legal team.

Our social work program started in 2017 with the simple idea that legal problems hardly ever come on their own.  Often, people who have legal challenges also have various other barriers to stability, and problems with housing or liberty can exponentially impact people’s ability to maintain their livelihood.  Thus, providing additional support to people who face legal cases, increases the likelihood of ongoing success.

A unique feature of Rising for Justice’s social work program is that it embeds within our legal team such that clients receive both services simultaneously.  This structure allows our legal and social work teams to collaborate to achieve the best results for our clients.

For additional information about our Social Work program or clinical placement for M.S.W. students, please contact our Director of Social Work, Chaz Kohlrieser, at ckohlrieser[@]risingforjustice[.]org.