START UP GIVEN THE OFTENHIDDEN NATURE OF STATELESSNESS AND LACK OF DOCUMENTATION, PROGRAMS MAY FOCUS ON MAPPING AND IDENTIFICATION INITIALLY, BEFORE MOVING TO ADDRESS THE ISSUES THEY HAVE IDENTIFIED, BY USING PARALEGAL ASSISTANCE TO INDIVIDUAL CLIENTS, LITIGATION, AND ADVOCACY. EMPOWERMENT (from programs that do not just view empowerment as a process, methodology or means to achieving documentation, but as a program or aim in itself) •B  uild an effective model for using legal empowerment approaches, specifically community-based paralegals, to facilitate the acquisition and use of ID documents to gain access to rights and opportunities— part of the core content of citizenship. •E  mpower the refugee populations and local host community to assist the refugee community in accessing basic rights and services. •E  mpower individuals and provide assistance through a paralegal program to those who need help with acquiring citizenship or proof of citizenship (including national ID cards and passports), or registering births. •S  upport the realization of the rights of stateless persons, to improve their living conditions, and allow them to better integrate into society and utilize their capabilities for development. • Increase marginalized groups’ access to employment, social assistance, education. •E  mpower communities to become more independent and skilled to claim rights for themselves, by training paralegals to assist their own communities to obtain personal documents, secure residency status, and access socio-economic rights. •E  mancipate women whose lack of ID keeps them in exploitative or abusive situations. OUTREACH • Widen knowledge about legal aid services. •C  ollect potential client information and bring in five clients per week for lawyer-led legal aid. • Build trust between the organization and the community. • Organize mobile registration clinics. SYSTEMIC CHANGE • Improved coordination of paralegal organizations to support policy advocacy. •F  ind a relevant number of cases in order to highlight the problem in the public agenda. Develop robust evidence on the relationship between lack of • identity documentation and statelessness. Goals and strategies will inevitably evolve over time, if your program continues. Given the often-hidden nature of statelessness and lack of documentation, programs may focus on mapping and identification initially, before moving to address the issues they have identified, by using paralegal assistance to individual clients, litigation, and advocacy. Some programs may begin in small areas and then expand to cover other geographic areas or to serve clients in more ways. Building a reputation, 52 | A C O M M U N I T Y- B A S E D P R A C T I T I O N E R ’ S G U I D E : D O C U M E N T I N G C I T I Z E N S H I P A N D OT H E R F O R M S O F L E G A L I D E N T I T Y