Community Organizing and Public Advocacy
Through community organizing, education, policy and research, the Community Organizing and Public Advocacy (COPA) Department works towards shifting policy, building power of community members and responding to incidents of anti-LGBTQ violence in order to create systemic change in people’s lives.
More About COPA
AVP engages in local community organizing work through our Community Action Committees. Learn about AVP’s current campaigns and get involved.
We collaborate with community-based organizations, city agencies and elected officials locally, state and nationwide, working interdisciplinary to end violence against the LGBTQ community. Notably, AVP is on the Steering Committee of Communities United for Police Reform.
Our Training and Education Institute leads hundreds of trainings annually with community members, law enforcement, court staff, district attorneys, rape crisis centers, domestic violence agencies and other mainstream health and human service providers. We also have several political education programs for community members ranging from public speaking to campaign planning. Request a training and learn more about our upcoming workshops for community members.
We coordinate the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs and the New York State LGBTQ IPV Network.
We’re always seeking volunteers to support our work from Pride to street based outreach to covering our front desk. Join our team of over volunteers and become an AVP community member today.
Client Services
AVP provides direct services to survivors of all forms of violence and to those who love and support them.
More about Client Services
Services include:
- Crisis intervention and safety planning
- Short-term counseling
- Advocacy with and accompaniment to police, court and social services agencies
- Information about and referrals to vetted resources.
Services are available to anyone seeking services from AVP through our hotline (212-714-1141), online reporting form, or intake sites throughout the five boroughs. We also have support groups for survivors of intimate partner violence and sexual violence, as well as specific groups for LGBTQ youth, and transgender and gender non-conforming people.
We serve LGBTQ and HIV-affected communities across all neighborhoods of New York City, and has intake sites in every borough, including at all Family Justice Centers, BOOM!Health and the Adolescent AIDS Program at Montefiore Medical Center. Find us in your borough.
Our services are geared to our city’s diverse LGBTQ and HIV-affected communities, including projects specifically designed for transgender and gender non-conforming people of color.
Economic Empowerment
The Economic Empowerment Program (EEP) at AVP supports clients with free and confidential financial and workforce development services, including financial counseling, which includes budgeting, resolving debt, building credit, and tax support, and job readiness services, including resume and cover letter building, mock interviewing, and career planning.
More about Economic Empowerment
We recognize that increasing economic stability and success reduces vulnerability to violence. We know that violence has a very real economic cost, particularly for marginalized LGBTQ and HIV-affected people.
EEP’s purpose is to directly address financial safety, health, and wellness, with survivors of violence, to support their overall well-being. EEP works in conjunction with our hotline, counseling, and advocacy programs, as well as with the legal team, to provide clients with comprehensive, concrete support in setting and reaching economic empowerment goals possible.
Along with EEP counseling and advocacy, our EEP program holds workshops for the community, including Building Your Financial Future: A Workshop on Budgeting and Savings and the Taming your Taxes Tax Workshop.
Legal Services
AVP provides free, holistic legal services to LGBTQ and HIV-affected survivors in all five boroughs of New York City in Family Court, Housing Court, Civil Court and with immigration matters.
More about Legal Services
Call our 24 Hour Hotline at 212-714-1141: During business hours, you will speak directly with a Counselor/Advocate who will conduct a brief intake. The Legal Services Department will contact you to schedule an in-person comprehensive legal intake. Legal appointments are usually made within two weeks, and faster in emergency cases, pending availability. If AVP’s Legal Program is not accepting intakes, the Counselor/Advocate will refer you to other resources in the community.
Walk-In Appointments: Stop into our office between the hours of 12:00 – 4:00 PM Monday through Thursday and speak directly to a Counselor/Advocate who will conduct a brief intake, and if warranted, refer you to the Legal Services Department. The Legal Services Department will contact you to schedule an in-person comprehensive legal intake. Legal appointments are usually made within two weeks, and faster in emergency cases, pending availability. If AVP’s Legal Program is not accepting intakes, the Counselor/Advocate will refer you to other resources in the community.
Current AVP Clients: For those already working with a Counselor/Advocate, simply tell them you are interested in speaking with the Legal Service Department and your Counselor/Advocate will make a direct referral. The Legal Services Department will contact you to schedule an in-person comprehensive legal intake. Legal appointments are usually made within two weeks, and faster in emergency cases, pending availability. If AVP’s Legal Program is not accepting intakes, the Counselor/Advocate will refer you to other resources in the community.
Family Justice Centers: AVP’s Counselor/Advocates provide services in the Family Justice Centers in all five boroughs. Stop in and speak (hyperlink to the FJC schedule) with one of our Counselor/Advocates who will conduct a brief intake and discuss with you whether you can/want to access legal services at the FJC, or at AVP’s Main Office.
National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs
AVP coordinates the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs (NCAVP), a coalition of local member programs, affiliate organizations, and individual affiliates who create systemic and social change for LGBTQ people nationally.
Learn more about NCAVP’s work >>
NYS Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender & Queer Intimate Partner Violence Network
The New York State Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender & Queer Intimate Partner Violence Network (“The Network”) is a statewide, multidisciplinary group of direct service providers, community-based agencies, advocates, educators, policy makers, and funders who are working on behalf of LGBTQ communities affected by intimate partner violence to ensure that intimate partner violence services are LGBTQ inclusive.