PCC Willow Creek Opportunity Center Partners With WorkSource For Free Legal Services And Job Support To Washington County (Photo) -09/13/23
HILLSBORO, Ore. – Portland Community College has partnered with WorkSource Portland Metro to offer free legal services once a month at the Willow Creek Opportunity Center (241 SW Edgeway Drive) in Hillsboro. This partnership now allows individuals in Washington County to access valuable legal and employment-related services.
The CLEAR Clinic/PCC Legal Resource Center provides limited-scope legal services for various issues. These services include DACA support, criminal record expungements, eviction assistance, and help with name and gender-marker changes.
J.J. Caufield, a staff attorney at the clinic, explained that they also offer Senate Bill 819 Reviews for Eligibility, a process similar to a pardon, and they can connect individuals with deportation defense services. Caufield and his team also provide eviction expungements. This is important as eviction records can appear on rental histories even if a renter did not actually lose their eviction case.
The clinic collaborates with WorkSource to provide job training and resume assistance, extending support beyond legal matters.
“We can connect folks with resources for touching up their resume after their criminal record is cleared,” Caufield said. “We can set people up with job training and occupational skills training. Even if a participant is unable to fully clear their record, for example, they can meet with WorkSource partners to plan their career and set their life back on track.
“Ordinarily, we are largely limited to assisting folks with legal issues,” he added. “But at the new Willow Creek Clinic, our sponsors at WorkSource can assist people with work issues as well.”
The Willow Creek Opportunity Center legal clinic operates on the second Monday of each month from 2-6 p.m. The remaining 2023 dates are Oct. 9, Nov. 13 and Dec. 11. Services will continue into 2024 as well.
For more information, visit https://www.pcc.edu/clear-clinic/.
About Portland Community College: Founded in 1961, Portland Community College is the largest post-secondary institution in Oregon and provides training, degree and certificate completion, and lifelong learning to more than 50,000 full- and part-time students in Multnomah, Washington, Yamhill, Clackamas, and Columbia counties. PCC has four comprehensive campuses, 10 education centers or areas served, and approximately 200 community locations in the Portland metropolitan area. The PCC district encompasses a 1,500-square-mile area in northwest Oregon and offers two-year degrees, one-year certificate programs, short-term training, alternative education, pre-college courses and life-long learning.
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