FOR SUPPORT WORKERS
Working with support workers
We work with diverse client-serving organisations across the province. We know that there is strength in working together, and collaboration is key to providing the best possible services for our clients. We work with anti-violence workers, family law advocates, outreach workers, and support workers to provide access to justice for clients.
If you are a Law Foundation funded Family Law Advocate or a Community Partner with the Virtual Legal Clinic, please see information by clicking buttons below:
For all other support workers, we offer the following
Limited free legal services for self-representing clients. We are not able to provide full representation for your clients. If your clients are seeking assistance for family law matters and are financially eligible for Rise’s services, we are able to provide:
legal navigation
support from family law advocates, and
We have specialized offerings from our various programs including:
Support and training from Family Advocate Support Line (FASL) lawyer
Support and training from the Indigenous Family Advocate Support Line (IFASL) lawyer
How our services work for self-representing clients?
We recommend reading how we can support clients.
We do not provide representation for clients. If your client is seeking legal representation and is eligible for legal aid, please contact Legal Aid BC directly. We may be able to provide services for clients, who have been approved for legal aid but are waiting for a lawyer, or are coming to an end with legal aid hours. Please fill the online form and speak to the legal navigator.
Rise has a financial eligibility criteria for clients accessing our services. We strongly recommend to check if the client meets our financial eligibility criteria before submitting the online form
Steps for service
We recommend reading all our steps to clarify how our process works before filling our online form.
Step 1
Fill our online form available in the next section. Support workers can attend the navigation call with the client.
Step 2
Book an appointment with the legal navigator, who is not a lawyer. Booking link will be in the email sent after the form is submitted. Our emails sometimes end up in spam, please mark our email as a safe contact.
Step 3
This will depend on the information on the form. Legal navigators and program assistants review all incoming request forms.
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If the navigators assess that the client qualifies for Legal Aid BC, an email with information to apply will be sent to the one provided on the form. In this case, the client’s appointment with the navigator will be canceled. If the client is denied legal aid, they can reach back to us and will not need to submit another form. You can reach back us at vlc@womenslegalcentre.ca.
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At this stage, the navigator will also assess if the legal matter falls within our scope of services. For matters, Rise cannot help with, the navigators may provide information about legal and community resources that may be a better fit in the legal matter.
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If the matter falls within our scope of services, and the client does not qualify for Legal Aid, speak with the navigator, who will assess for Rise’s financial eligibility and how the client can be best supported. Community partners are encouraged to attend the navigation call with the client.
Step 4
Depending on the call with the navigator, referrals may be made to:
internal program or service including summary advice service at Rise;
referral to a community organization better suited to assist;
another legal resource.
(this is not a complete list, the legal navigator is best suited to explore options with the client and you).
You can refer a client to us for family law issues. We recommend reading how we can support clients.
Please read below about how you can refer clients to us.
Request Assistance
Lower Mainland clients
can be referred by completing our online form.
If the client’s email is being provided on the form, please double check that it is safe for them to receive emails regarding scheduling appointments and follow-ups from Rise.
If there are no safety concerns, please complete the Confidential Appointment Request Form.
If there are concerns regarding the client’s email, you can provide your email or fill out our Safe Contact Form to ask for assistance.
Questions regarding clients in the Lower Mainland can be sent to clc@womenslegalcentre.ca
Clients outside the Lower Mainland
can be referred through one of the options:
Will you continue supporting the client?
If yes, complete and submit the Request for Service.
If no, please direct or support the client to complete our online form after reviewing the information below:
If the client’s email is being provided on the form, please double check that it is safe for them to receive emails regarding scheduling appointments and follow-ups from Rise.
No concerns regarding email safety, please complete the Confidential Appointment Request Form.
Yes, there are concerns regarding the client’s email, fill out our Safe Contact Form to ask for assistance.
Questions regarding clients outside the Lower Mainland can be sent to vlc@womenslegalcentre.ca
Assisting family law advocates, anti-violence workers and support workers
Got questions about your clients or need support with a client file?
Clients do not need to be Rise’s clients for you to access the service.
You can access our Family Advocate Support Line (FASL) lawyer, who provides fast and comprehensive advice on routine and complex cases.
You can also access our Indigenous Family Advocate Support Line (IFASL) lawyer. IFASL is a dedicated phone line for Indigenous advocates and workers supporting Indigenous clients. IFASL is open to receiving questions on both family law and Child, Family. and Community Service Act (CFCSA) matters.
Note: Clients cannot book appointments for these services.
Training
You can attend some of our monthly training. The training page requires a password, please email education@womenslegalcentre.ca to request a password. We are only able to give you access with an organizational email.
We also send monthly announcements for all our training for support workers. If you would like to be added to the mailing list, please complete information here.
For any questions regarding upcoming training, email education@womenslegalcentre.ca
Upcoming training
Guides and Reports
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