Lauren DesRosiers

The Project

Lauren served undocumented LGBTQ+ survivors of hate violence in New York City by improving access to holistic legal services to combat alienation from legal systems.

Incidents of hate violence against LGBTQ+ communities have dramatically increased over the past several years and are coterminous with increased violence against immigrants. Undocumented LGBTQ+ survivors of hate violence live at a critical nexus of underserved communities and are at a high risk of estrangement from legal systems. This further marginalizes LGBTQ+ immigrants, thereby exacerbating the effects of violence. Lauren’s project increased access to holistic legal services through outreach and direct representation to combat the effects of violence experienced by undocumented LGBTQ+ hate violence survivors.

Fellowship Highlights

During the two-year Fellowship, Lauren:

• Trained over 150 pro bono attorneys on working with LGBTQ+ and HIV-affected immigrant survivors of hate violence;
• Counseled or represented over LGBTQ+ immigrant survivors of hate violence in immigration and related matters on over 150 cases;
• Conducted outreach and intakes through community partners in over 20 clinics to provide information on rights surrounding immigration to community members;
• Presented to over 400 people on various presentations and trainings related to working with LGBTQ+ and HIV-affected immigrant survivors of hate violence; and
• Developed materials on best practices for working with LGBTQ+ immigrant survivors of hate violence.

Next Steps

Fellowing her Fellowship, Lauren has remained at the New York City Anti-Violence Project, where she continues to serve LGBTQ+ and HIV-affected survivors of violence.

Media