VECINA’s ReUnite project provides pro bono legal assistance to sponsors of detained unaccompanied immigrant children in order to help them navigate the complexities of the reunification process. Since ReUnite launched in March of 2021, we have provided reunification and post-release support to over 1,300 unaccompanied children. ReUnite is the only program in the United States that provides pro bono legal assistance to sponsors to help them secure the release of detained unaccompanied minors.
We recognize the critical role our referring partners play in connecting us with sponsors in need of reunification assistance. We happily accept referrals from UC legal service providers in the Acacia network, the Young Center for Immigrant Children’s Rights, UC care providers, and other community service providers working with unaccompanied minors or their loved ones. If you would like to refer a case for assistance through the ReUnite project, please review the information below.
ReUnite Project Referral Status
Referral Acceptance Status: CLOSED
We have reached our referral capacity for the week of 10/7 to 10/11 and are no longer accepting new referrals this week. We expect to reopen our referral acceptance again on Tuesday, 10/15, given the holiday on Monday, 10/14. Please check this page again on that date to make sure our referral acceptance status is listed as “OPEN,” which will mean that we have the capacity to accept your referral.
In order to ensure that we don’t take on more referrals than we can address with the quality and care they deserve, we have established a weekly maximum referral capacity. To make this easier for our valued referring partners, we’ve created this page to keep you updated on whether we’re currently accepting new referrals. If the status above is “OPEN,” you are welcome to proceed in emailing us your referral. If the status is “CLOSED,” that means that we have reached our maximum referral capacity for the week and will not be able to accept your referral until the date specified above, which will typically be the Monday of the following week. We are committed to keeping the information on this page updated so you always know whether we are accepting new referrals.
Referral Form
If the referral acceptance status above is listed as “OPEN,”, please complete this ReUnite Referral Form and email it to ReUnite Project Director Molly Chew at molly@vecina.org, copying ReUnite Project Manager Karen Cepeda at karen@vecina.org. When we receive your referral, we will reply to you as quickly as possible.
Flyers for Sponsors
When you refer a case to VECINA’s ReUnite project, we know that it may be helpful for you to be able to share a flyer with the sponsor regarding our work. You are welcome to share the flyers below with sponsors, which include our ReUnite hotline number where sponsors can reach us if they have any questions.
English
Spanish
Haitian Creole
French
Portuguese
Dari
Russian
Ukrainian
Mam
Q’eqchi
Kaqchikel
K’iche
Chuj
We intend to have these flyers translated into more languages as time goes on. You may notice that the flyers in the indigenous languages look a slightly different from the rest of the flyers because we have not yet had a chance to get these flyers translated into the newest version. However, the phone number for our hotline and the explanation of what we do are still the same on every flyer.
Questions?
If you have any questions about the ReUnite project, our current referral acceptance status, the process of referring a sponsor for reunification assistance, or you are unsure whether a case is appropriate to refer to ReUnite, please don’t hesitate to contact ReUnite Project Director Molly Chew at molly@vecina.org.
We are grateful for your continued partnership and we look forward to helping reunite more families!