LIGHTHOUSE IMMIGRANT ADVOCATES

Lighthouse Immigrant Advocates (LIA) is a law firm which was founded in 2015 and is located in Holland. David Lee is not a lawyer but is employed by LIA. Davis is Korean born but educated in this country. He assists LIA in many ways through the services they provide to their clients, but principally he Raises funds for the organization. He came to tell us about LIA and its unique approach to immigrant issues in our community.

LIA is more than a law firm. While it has 2 attorneys on staff, including firm founder Sarah Yore-Oosterhout, 2 paralegals, and 3 other staff members besides David, it seeks to utilize the groups talents to provide a holistic approach to All the problems their clients face related to immigration. This includes issues and paperwork related to the client’s immigration status, education, language services, advice in support of benefits available to support family stability, and advocacy related to immigration not only locally but at seats of government. Of course, they also represent their clients in court. As David put it, “there is lots of legal conduct that preys upon the immigrant population.”

The numbers related to the Immigrant population are notable. Foreign born residents of Ottawa County comprise 5.4% of the County’s population compared to 8.8% statewide. The gross number exceeds 15,500 representing over 60 countries of origin. Statewide that translates to about 150,000. About 1/3 of LIA’s clients are undocumented refugees whose status may still be unresolved. The staff biographies on the LIA website show a common thread that they believe everyone in the world should be able to live in a safe and stable environment. 90% of their clients live below 200% of the poverty level. The average case takes about 250 days to resolve. Last year they served 630 clients with a 97.3% positive approval rating. In the future LIA is looking to add another full-time attorney in the area of refugee advocacy. In the meantime, they welcome the volunteer assistance of Licensed Attorneys and anyone else moved to support the broad range of charitable endeavors of the LIA,

On the financial side, LIA’s annual budget is about $450,000.00. In 2021, 21% came in through fees which are structured based upon the client’s income; 45% came from corporate donations, and about 34% came from grants and subsidies. David is involved in the latter 2 categories and noted that the money received from grants was higher due to COVID related government payments and that this area is normally about 24%. LIA is 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization. David welcomes all forms of volunteerism.

Randy White

No Raffle- Zoom Meeting