S H I E L D  Foundation services are provided FREE of charge to the recipients of the service if they qualify.  Our services are FREE for low-income individuals and their families.

Specifics are deteremined by the case manager at time of intake interview.

S H I E L D  provides services to and for the benefit of Women and their dependant children, who are the Victims of Domestic Abuse and/or of Domestic Violence.

S H I E L D   is established to provide support and services to such Victims of Abuse, and to offer them help and safe alternatives to their current position, as well as to coordinate assistance to them from other organizations and agencies that provide different support service to qualified individuals that request such help free of charge. More than 50% of the recipients are individuals whose household income is/or below 150% of the Federal Poverty Level Guidelines, and who reside in the state of Arizona.

S H I E L D  does not discriminate on the basis of race, gender, creed, color, religion, beliefs, or national original of any individual as a basis for qualifications for assistance.

The need and type of assistance and the availability of resources to provide the same are determined by S H I E L D  based on the information provided by the applicant, independently verified as adequately accurate, and the resources that may be available at that time, to best assist the applicant.

S H I E L D   Position Statement

Thank you for your interest in our organization, and for navigating to this page for details.

S H I E L D  Foundation is always guided by the laws of the United States and the Laws of the Great State of Arizona, in determining as to what the individual clients are eligible for, and what services are available at that time.

As a Matter of our standard policy, and in accordance with and pursuant to the U.S. Federal law as well as the anti discrimination laws of the State of Arizona we do not discriminate as to the victims eligibility for assistance based on: age, race, gender, sexual preference, religious beliefs, national origins, or economic status, however, in accordance to the laws of the State of Arizona, only Arizona and U.S. Legal Residents  who are no convicted felons are eligible for S H I E L D  assistance.

S H I E L D  Assistance services are in compliance with the U.S. Federal and State laws as such relate to Victim Services, and S H I E L D  assistance depends on victims being truthful  and forthright in their request for assistance and their need for services. S H I E L D  always conditions assistance to victims upon the Victim's sincerity in following the applicable laws and regulations that are in place, and are appropriate to the specific case of the victim. At NO POINT S H I E L D   assistance or policy condones or in any way whatsoever encourages anyone for any reason to violate or in anyway circumvent the U.S. or Arizona state laws, due to eligibility or otherwise, or to obtain improper benefits.  S H I E L D  will terminate all assistance services immediately to the person, if it becomes known to staff that, that victim is attempting to perform acts which may constitute a violation of U.S. or Arizona State Laws.

Since the very beginning of the  S H I E L D  Victim Assistance program, at no point in time did  S H I E L D  Foundation in any way whatsoever have any relations, or cooperation with any Mail Order Bride company or service,  have never in any way whatsoever recommended or endorsed any, or referred to any, regardless of where such services may be located, or what types of population segment may be using  any such services for any reason. S H I E L D  Foundation does NOT Provide assistance to persons  that are not  physically residing or are lawfully present in the U.S., or those who are not actually Victims, in regard to specifics of  the Victim Assistance services.

In accordance with the applicable U.S. Federal laws, S H I E L D  does NOT provide any assistance services to any persons that are known, or are later discovered to be engaged in acts of prostitution, or have been prosecuted for the same, as such activity is defined by the federal law. This determination for eligibility for assistance is based upon the client's initial application for assistance, and specific case facts that are developed during the assistance process itself. We do not make a value judgment on any occupation, including prostitution, but we do not have a responsibility, or the capacity to deal with the clients who are engaged, or formerly were engaged in the same at any point in time, and if identified by staff as such, assistance services to any such client are and will be discontinued as per stated policy.

We have never endorsed, condoned or encouraged in an way whatsoever, any form of dating, social meting or marriage company activity by anyone, for any reason through the use of mails, telephone, email or the Internet directly, from any source, regardless of who actually had initiated  any such service  or contact.  S H I E L D  has a standard policy to report all suspected Human Trafficking and related cases, as such activity is defined by the applicable federal law, as soon as possible, to the applicable law enforcement agencies.

In the last 5 years, such and similar activities have duly come under strict U.S. Governmental regulation, at federal and state levels, making most of such companies illegal to operate in the U.S., so most such businesses have relocated to other more unpatrolled jurisdictions. Unfortunately, Arizona law still allows such activities, and there are several such companies that are Arizona based.  Despite our most sincere earnest warnings regarding this serious issue to the persons of both genders, many individuals still naively choose to risk this method for their new relationships, most  will end up with undesirable results to all but the service provider(s) that collect a fee for posting, or other related services and fees to either party.

It is our  firm position based on experience, that for a serious functional relationship to develop and continue, the actual real ( Not Virtual ) individuals must meet and get to know one another, long before attempting any changes that will lead to a change in any one's status, or involve a U.S. immigration process in any way whatsoever. As with anything one can see advertised on line, in the spam emails, or even in the classifieds in the local paper, not all of those items or statements are true, and as always, cheap and easy is not always the most effective solution to any issue, and  long term personal relationships are not to be taken lightly, especially if they are intended to result in marriage, and children are involved from either side, or are contemplated.

Each and every S H I E L D  case is unique and different, as are each of the victims and as well as each of the abusers, and each of those has their own ideas and interests to be pursued, as a result of their relationship with each other, and some are very seriously mistaken in their initial assumptions about one another, or what actually governs their relationship, which often leads to domestic violence and or domestic abuse between the parties, which in turn usually involves the local Police and sometimes S H I E L D  Victims Assistance as is needed, on a case by case basis. We do not select clients who contact us or when, what deep seated motivations they may have, when and how the victims actually need help, that in the end is for the courts to decide, if the matter goes to court.

All S H I E L D  clients of Victim Assistance have been evaluated if accepted for eligibility for services, using the criteria outlined in our policy, and the request for assistance has to be duly merited by relevant case facts as genuine, prior to any services to be made available to victim form S H I E L D. Persons that do not meet the above criteria, are not  in any way any less needy of the requested service, however considering our policy requirements, they may have to obtain those services elsewhere, at a State or at a private service provider.

S H I E L D  understands that there are numerous misconceptions and misunderstandings in regards to the use of protections related to Domestic Violence Act, and regular U.S. Immigration process, as is available to any person who marries a U.S. Citizen, or a U.S. Resident Alien. Depending on time frames and type of the initial  entry Visa used, the time line for the purposes of this particular super-simplified example is starting to run when the marriage is registered as such, and can go to 3 calendar years, depending on the country of origin of the new spouse, and other relevant specific facts, at the end of which time, if the proper forms are timely filed by the newlyweds, the new spouse will be eligible for and will duly receive a green card, based on marriage, as it should be, in accordance with U.S. Immigration Act law. Additionally it is possible to file for and obtain a ruling in certain circumstances: to remove conditions from said green card, and later to apply for the optional but highly desirable U.S. Citizenship, again depending on the individual circumstances, within 2-3 years of receiving a green card.

This is a  relatively standard process, that many millions of people have been through and it works very reliably, even if it is a little slow at times. This process is non confrontational, non adverse and uncontested by the U.S. Government, as well as completely affordable, even with the recent fee increases  during the last 3 years included.

The very small number of unfortunate individuals who are actually eligible to only obtain a green card as a result of the protections that are available through the VAWA Act, will  have the burden of additional expenses, turmoil, emotional distress, confrontation and many courts as a result, and  so will begin their life in the U.S. with an unfortunate event, with no tangible usable benefit to the victim, as opposed and compared to the normal green card application process. In the S H I E L D  Victim Assistance policy we specifically expressly state and underline that, the use  of the VAWA  Act protection as one of a last resort, and only providing that, the specific case circumstances of the particular victim actually qualify to the set forth government criteria in the form requirements.

It is our sincere understanding, that it is inconceivable and highly impractical for anyone who actually understands, and has seen this U.S. immigration process work, that any person who makes a claim of Domestic Violence and or Domestic Abuse will ever attempt to do so lightly, to attempt to in some way obtain an undue immigration benefit, as everyone knows that the Police are involved. And this is especially so, if anyone in the case is arrested and is charged with a crime, a subsequent court hearing will be necessary to resolve the issues. In S H I E L D  victims services experience, most victims do not want to involve the police in any way, usually until it is too late, and even then, they are very concerned with the consequences, real and imagined, once the police actually arrive on the scene.

Women that are not U.S. born, or are from a Diverse Culture and  the elderly of either gender, are exceedingly averse to call the police, and even with the police present, are not prone to press charges against their abuser, even in an obvious assault against them, and even when the police request that the victim does so. In many cases even if required by state law, an abuser is charged with a crime by the police, without the victim's cooperation for  domestic assault, the victim later fails to testify against the same abuser in over 70% of the cases, just  in hoping the abuser will be grateful to the victim, when the abuser is released from jail.

It is very, very unusual in our experience, that a person that is actually intentionally causing the Domestic Abuse and Domestic Violence is the same one who is asking for outside help, in this case to better overcome their victim.  It is obvious from the broad scope of experience with clients in victim assistance, which client is, or which client is not being honest, as to the specifics of their case, prior to obtaining any assistance from  S H I E L D.  Assistance is  expressly Not Available to any persons, who are attempting to perform an illegal or an immoral, or a wrongful act against another person, or under false pretenses, with the help of the police, or S H I E L D  Victim Assistance, regardless of the gender or age of the requester, or that of the other affected party.

S H I E L D  Foundation Staff and Volunteers are glad to provide functional assistance to victims and their dependent minor children as well as people in need, even if the victim's affected abusers are unhappy with the results that the Victims have obtained, through the Victim's appropriate use of statutory protections that are lawful, proper and are available for just such a purpose, to protect the victim from further assault and abuse, and that help to enable the victim regardless of status at the moment of abuse, to break the cycle of violence, and to begin to rebuild their life anew. Without such  statutory intermediate measures being available to the victims of Domestic Abuse and or Domestic Violence, the remaining recourse available for the victim would not be very civil or productive.

We hope this is information is helpful in response to you search.

S H I E L D  Foundation  Staff.

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