Integrated Social Services

Immigrants detained in Arizona include:

Their needs go far beyond legal representation. That’s why the Florence Project has legal and social services staff working together in a holistic model.

The Florence Project provides holistic services, giving our clients the tools they need to pursue their immigration cases while also addressing their psychosocial needs. Our social workers help our clients heal from past trauma and navigate the complicated realities of adapting to life in this country. Through ongoing case management, together with our clients the team responds to particularly challenging circumstances such as serious mental health conditions, medical needs, shelter and food insecurity, domestic violence, suicidal ideation, pregnancy, parenting, and family separation.

While attorneys work on the legal aspects of a client’s case, Florence Project social workers provide:

Crisis intervention
Case management
Navigation of complex systems
Connections to local service providers for clients who are released from detention
Workshops for clients and staff on issues such as trauma, health, and education

Our clients are:

Individuals displaced by social and political unrest, often fleeing direct threats to their life
Survivors of torture, trafficking, and gender-based violence
Families separated at our border or within the U.S.
People with serious medical and mental health conditions, including those deemed incompetent to represent themselves by an immigration judge
LGBTQ+ people
Children who were abused, abandoned, or neglected
Indigenous language speakers

Many immigrants cannot be released from detention without proving that they have a release plan and community support.

Florence Project social workers connect clients with:

Crisis intervention
Case management
Navigation of complex systems
Connections to local service providers for clients who are released from detention
Workshops for clients and staff on issues such as trauma, health, and education

Florence Project social workers advocate for the release of unaccompanied children on their 18th birthdays instead of being incarcerated in adult detention while they fight their immigration case.

The Florence Project is an innovator in the field of legal and social services for detained immigrants.

Our Integrated Social Services Program:

Advocates for children of all ages, including tender-aged clients under 5 years old
Identifies and reports medical neglect in detention and advocates for medical access
Identifies adults showing signs of incompetency to ensure they are appointed attorneys
Develops creative, developmentally appropriate ways to communicate with diverse clients, including those who are traumatized, neurodivergent, developmentally delayed, cognitively impaired, and/or very young
Engages in community outreach and advocacy

"Because of [my Florence Project social worker], I was able to get ahold of [my son] Carlos and talk to him on the phone. He said they were not mistreating him, but I needed to get him out of the foster home."

The Florence Immigrant & Refugee Rights Project is proud to be the recipient of a generous gift from the Our Lady of Victory Missionary Sisters, commonly known as the Victory Noll Sisters, to strengthen the Florence Project’s Integrated Social Services Program and Border Action Team. 

Established in 1922, the Victory Noll Sisters have been dedicated to fostering justice, standing in solidarity with marginalized people living in poverty and oppression, and promoting the development of leaders. The Sisters have made this legacy donation to the Florence Project as an organization that has similar values that resonate with the Victory Noll Sisters’ mission and that also serves in Arizona, one of the states where the Sisters have served.

Read full announcement here.

Thank you, Victory Noll Sisters, for the generous gift!

To learn more about the Our Lady of Victory Missionary Sisters, visit their website or watch their Centennial video.

Testimonials

"The Florence Project Staff explained the legal process and let people know the consequences of any decisions they made as they went before the court. I remember thinking how our justice system was not made for such a magnitude of bulk processing. I remember thinking how the detainees’ faces changed from fear to hope as they listened to the Florence staff."

"I love my work at the Florence Project because we want to right as many wrongs as we can. We want to win all of our cases, but even when we do not, our clients have gratitude and can receive closure when they feel seen and heard. People always benefit from having a fair fight, which is why we are dedicated to making sure everyone gets the care and attention they deserve."

"One of the most amazing things to me about the Florence Project is the high caliber and excellent quality of the individuals who are attracted to the project. Starting with Charlene D’Cruz, I am so thankful that we had and continue to have a steady stream of people who are not only stellar legal thinkers but also people of character with huge hearts."

Integrated Social Services

Immigrants detained in Arizona include:

While attorneys work on the legal aspects of a client’s case, Florence Project social workers provide:

Our clients are:

Many immigrants cannot be released from detention without proving that they have a release plan and community support.

Florence Project social workers connect clients with:

The Florence Project is an innovator in the field of legal and social services for detained immigrants.

Our Integrated Social Services Program:

Testimonials

TUCSON

PHOENIX

FLORENCE

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