Volunteers needed! See sections below for Volunteer and Donate.
Neighbors United for Mutual Support is a mutual aid program based in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Chicago supporting our new neighbors seeking asylum and other legal support.
We assist with applications for asylum and work permits and provide direct support with rent and living experiences, and by facilitating donations neighbors needing clothes and housing items.
Between August of 2022 and November 2024, the City of Chicago received over 51,000 new arrivals who crossed the southern border, many fleeing persecution within the meaning of United States asylum law. Many were at first living outside, or as the weather got colder, inside the Chicago police stations, then in city and state run shelters throughout the city. Many skipped the shelter system and were received, in most cases with inadequate knowledge and supports, by people they knew who had come to Chicago earlier.
Recent arrivals need help with basic needs, like rent, clothing, and paying rising gas bills in a climate far colder than what they are used to. Many qualify for work permits, but applying costs $550.
Donations directly support the clients we serve, through loans for legal and application fees, humanitarian aid, and aid for families of detainees.
Maureen Graves in Chicago Magazine
Grassroots Legal Aid Clinic for Asylum Seekers Receiving “Constant Influx of New Cases”
Clock ticking for many recently arrived asylum seekers, but legal help is hard to find
‘Everything is now an emergency’ — Inside a South Side legal clinic for immigrants
We are a grassroots, volunteer-run operation on the South Side of Chicago. Our primary focus is on providing material support and emergency legal services aimed at helping recent new arrivals and asylum seekers preserve rights while they seek long-term representation.
Neighbors United for Mutual Support developed out of the work of founder Maureen Graves, a lawyer and activist who represents students with disabilities, and who has been assisting with document preparation in asylum cases since 2022.
