District of Columbia

The D.C. Rape Crisis Center is dedicated to creating a world free of sexual violence. The Center works for social change through community outreach, education, and legal and public policy initiatives. The Center helps survivors and their families heal from the aftermath of sexual violence through crisis intervention, counseling, and advocacy. All DC Rape Crisis Center services are free and confidential and available to all survivors of sexual abuse.

Service area: Washington, D.C.
Work with: Survivors of sexual violence and their loved ones
Services for survivors during incarceration include: Crisis intervention via the 24-hour hotline; hospital accompaniment during forensic exams; legal advocacy and court accompaniment for sexual assault cases; support groups; information; and referrals.
Services for survivors after release include: All of the above and individual and group counseling for survivors of rape and childhood sexual abuse; support groups for male survivors, survivors of child sexual assault, and lesbian survivors of sexual assault; and alternative healing groups.
Services for loved ones include: Crisis intervention; counseling; information; and referrals.
Fees: Free

The Network for Victim Recovery of the District of Columbia (NVRDC) seeks to empower crime victims in the District of Columbia through a collaborative approach by providing holistic, comprehensive services in three ways: community-based education, therapeutic, and legal support. We want a crime victim to achieve justice and self-determination.

Work with: All survivors of sexual assault ages 18+.
Services for survivors during incarceration include: Mail correspondence; hospital accompaniment during forensic exams; legal and medical advocacy; information, referrals, and references.
Services for survivors after release include: Mail correspondence; hospital accompaniment during forensic exams; accompaniment to courts and during law enforcement interviews; legal and medical advocacy; group counseling/support groups; information, referrals, and references.
Services for loved ones include: Information, referrals, and references.
Fees: Free.
Additional Information: We can provide services in survivors preferred language through language access line or in-person translation at the hospital.

The Sexual Minority Youth Assistance League (SMYAL) is the only Washington, D.C. metro area service organization solely dedicated to supporting lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning (LGBTQ) youth. SMYAL’s mission is to promote and support self-confident, healthy, productive lives for LGBTQ youth as they journey from adolescence into adulthood. To fulfill this mission, SMYAL concentrates on five focus areas: life skills and leadership development, counseling and support, health and wellness education, safe social activities, and community outreach and education.

Service area: Washington, D.C.
Work with: LGBTQ youth
Services for survivors during incarceration include: Support; information; and referrals by phone, email, and mail.
Services for survivors after release include: Counseling and support groups; leadership development opportunities; HIV testing and counseling; Chat it up!, a mixed-gender discussion group; and other social activities for LGBTQ youth.
Services for loved ones include: Information and referrals.
Fees: Free
Additional Information: SMYAL cannot provide on-going services for survivors while they are behind bars. Please contact SMYAL for more information on services available after release.

The Women’s Collective (TWC) is a Washington, D.C.-based non-profit that works to meet the self-defined needs of women, girls, and their families living with or at-risk for HIV/AIDS, reducing barriers to care, and strengthening their network of support and services.

Service area: Washington, D.C.
Work with: Women and girls who are HIV+ or at-risk for HIV/AIDS and their families
Services for survivors during incarceration include: Collaboration with case managers for HIV+ women; assistance with discharge planning; information; and referrals.
Services for survivors after release include: HIV testing and counseling and a range of services for women who are HIV+, including medical case management and referrals for women and their children to other programs that provide primary medical care, support, and mental health services, as well as assistance with accessing respite care, childcare, housing, food, transportation, etc.; the Coffee House Support Group, a monthly peer-led support group for women with HIV; the Prevention with Positives (PIP) Program, which enhances the health and well-being of women with HIV/AIDS to reduce their risk through multiple interventions; peer-based support and skills-building groups; emergency financial assistance for rent, utilities, telephone, medical/dental expenses, medication, shelter, and other basic needs; information; and referrals.
Services for loved ones include: HIV testing and counseling; family social activities; support; information; and referrals.
Fees: Free
Additional Information: The Women’s Collective also operates multiple prevention education and policy advocacy programs to reduce the spread of HIV/AIDS and to ensure that women who are HIV+ have a voice in the issues that affect them.

The Whitman Walker Clinic is a community health center serving greater Washington’s diverse urban community, including individuals who face barriers to accessing care, with a special expertise in LGBT and HIV care.

Service area: Greater Washington D.C. metro area
Work with: LGBT people, people living with HIV/AIDS, and others in need of care
Services for survivors during incarceration include: Information and referrals.
Services for survivors after release include: All of the above and anonymous or confidential HIV testing and counseling; primary medical care for LGBT people and people living with HIV/AIDS; dental care; prenatal care; medical adherence case management for HIV+ clients; on-site pharmacy services; day treatment centers for people living with HIV/AIDS; and behavioral healthcare programs for LGBT people, people living with HIV/AIDS, and their loved ones, including individual, group, and family psychotherapy; peer and professionally facilitated support groups; intensive addiction treatment and substance abuse counseling; harm reduction and relapse prevention groups; and a directory of LGBT and HIV supportive therapists. Legal Services are also available to help clients with sexual orientation or gender identity discrimination; wills, advance medical directives, and financial powers of attorney; health, life, and disability insurance problems; custody; asylum, and other immigration issues; and debtors’ rights.
Services for loved ones include: Anonymous or confidential HIV testing and counseling; information; and referrals.
Additional information: All services are available to the Spanish-speaking community through bilingual staff and volunteers. Other translation services are available upon request. Se habla español.

The ACLU of the National Capital Area (ACLU-NCA) defends and expands civil liberties in the Nation’s Capital and Prince George’s and Montgomery Counties in nearby Maryland. Each year the ACLU-NCA reviews more than 10,000 requests for legal assistance. In addition to their work on individual court cases, the ACLU-NCA uses public education, coalition-building, and legislation to achieve their goals. Persons with cases involving prison conditions should send a letter requesting legal assistance to the address above to the attention of the Legal Intake Department.

As the successor to the D.C. Prisoners’ Legal Services Project, Inc., the mission of the D.C. Prisoners’ Project of the Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs remains to advocate for the humane treatment and dignity of all persons convicted or charged with a criminal offense under D.C. law housed in prisons, jails or community corrections programs in D.C. or across the country, to assist their family members with prison-related issues, and to promote progressive criminal justice reform.

The Project’s goals are: to remedy deficiencies in medical and mental health services; to ensure that conditions of confinement are safe and humane and to prevent acts of violence, sexual assault, and torture; to improve the chances for social reintegration of the thousands of D.C. residents returning to D.C. communities after serving a period of incarceration; and to support activities to reduce the prison population through advocating alternatives to imprisonment and supporting prevention initiatives.

The Project provides free legal services in civil litigation, informal advocacy, self-help materials, legislative solutions, and public education. The Project remains the only legal organization with a mission of advocating for the interests of D.C. prisoners currently held in federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) facilities across the country, in addition to the D.C. Jail and the Correctional Treatment Facility. Materials are available in alternative formats for people with disabilities, and auxiliary aids, including sign language interpreters, are available on request.

A lawyer referral service, or LRS, is a public resource most often provided by a bar association whose purpose is to help you locate an experienced attorney. No fee is administered when placing a call with an LRS, but there may be a fee involved if you schedule and keep an appointment with an attorney obtained through an LRS. The following are lawyer referral services in the D.C. metro area:

District of Columbia:
Bar Association of the District of Columbia: (202) 296-7845

Maryland:
Prince George’s County Bar Association: (301) 952-1440
Toll-free: (866) 757-7785

Bar Association of Montgomery County: (301) 279-9100

Virginia:
Virginia State Bar Association: (804) 775-0808
Toll-free: (800) 552-7977

Alexandria Bar Association: (703) 548-1105

Arlington County Bar Association: (703) 228-3390

Fairfax Bar Association: (703) 246-3780

The Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia (PDS) provides and promotes quality legal representation to indigent adults and children facing a loss of liberty in the District of Columbia and thereby protects society’s interest in the fair administration of justice. PDS’s Community Defender Division operates the Institutional Services Program, whose services are available to DC Code Offenders who are housed in U.S. Bureau of Prison facilities across the country as well as prisoners confined in D.C. correctional facilities. PDS provides legal advice and assistance regarding conditions of confinement, including living conditions; disciplinary matters; access to adequate medical, dental, and psychiatric care; sentencing calculations; confinement to special housing units; visitation issues; and the right to practice one’s religion. Assistance with criminal matters or detainers may be provided by other PDS divisions. PDS also distributes free informational memos on various prison law topics.