A new 20-week certificate program aims to train women already working in Arizona communities as legal advocates for neighbors facing eviction or domestic violence.

The Women's Legal and Self-Empowerment Certification program is a partnership between the Women's Foundation for Southern Arizona, Innovation for Justice and I Am You 360 and is designed for women already serving their communities.

This program seeks to address the root causes of justice system involvement by intervening before housing instability and domestic violence situations escalate. The dual-certification program curriculum, which is funded through a $630,000 grant from Vitalyst Health Foundation, aims to support women of color and women living in rural areas.

"It's truly their programmatic effort. We're the machine that can help make it work because they are such small organizations. We're the ones with the statewide reach, the reputation, the infrastructure to help bring their programs to systems," said WFSA CEO Katia Jones. "It works out in a way that we can amplify their work, but at the same time, it benefits our mission of ensuring that women and girls can thrive here in the state of Arizona."

Innovation for Justice is a virtual social justice lab based in the University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law and the University of Utah David Eccles School of Business. It designs pathways for advocates other than lawyers to understand law through the Arizona Administrative Office of the Courts.

I Am You 360 is a Tucson-based nonprofit run by Desiree Cook, dedicated to supporting vulnerable youth and adults across Arizona. The certificate program's curriculum opens with Cook's personal agency coursework, designed to build participants' confidence.

"They have a specialized curriculum around personal agency," Jones said. "Not only be an advocate for the community, which they've already shown themselves to be, but also be an advocate for themselves when they're having to deal with the legal process."

The first phase of the program, weeks 1 through 4, focuses on self-empowerment, identity, voice and leadership. The second phase, weeks 5 through 20, provides participants with formal legal training to equip them for assistance in housing stability, eviction prevention and domestic violence advocacy.

Both phases are led by the partner organizations, making the effort a broad community collaboration.

WFSA is seeking applications from women with lived experience navigating domestic violence, housing instability or limited access to legal aid. At the time of application, applicants must be volunteering or employed with a community-based organization and be a U.S. citizen or legal resident.

Community-based work can include service providers, case managers, promotoras, peer mentors, domestic violence advocates, community health workers and faith leaders.

"We want this program to be a cohort so that they have peer support and can be able to talk with one another about the different issues that may be coming up in their communities and learn from one another while also getting certified to be a legal advocate," Jones said.

Because the program aims to reach women in rural and underserved areas, organizers have also worked to address technology barriers to the digital curriculum.

"We're very good at being adaptable and pivoting when we need to," Jones said. "Other pilot programs that we've implemented where technology, Wi-Fi service, or anything like that have been an issue, we've been able to satisfy that through other routes of revenue or donations. I don't see that being an issue here as well. We will make sure to remove any barriers that may be in the way of the women who are applying for this program to be able to get legally certified."

The Women's Legal and Self-Empowerment Certification aims to train 45 to 50 women across high-risk Arizona counties. An estimated 60 women will run through three cohorts of the 20-week programs, with the first program beginning July 6 and ending Dec. 4. Each cohort is limited to 20 participants. Applications are due June 5.

Ruby Wray is a journalism and creative writing major at the University of Arizona and Tucson Spotlight intern. Contact her at rubywray@arizona.edu.

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