information sharing increases awareness of fundamental human rights in the community, and may make collective action or communityled advocacy or litigation processes possible in the future. Informing communities about events in other places may encourage them to seek change in their own context.  ee 10.8 Advocacy Strategy: Working with International, National, S and Regional Human Rights Bodies, Campaigns, and Social Movements for further ideas on sharing international information.  ee 2. Determining the Need for and Opportunity to Help for further S guidance on legal information. 9.3 Accompaniment Accompaniment has three basic types: helping clients fill out forms and other documents, providing financial resources, and physically accompanying clients as they attempt to access documentation, nationality, or other rights or services. For many projects, accompaniment is the activity that paralegals most commonly do, and projects should budget and plan for this. Accompaniment is generally more resource-intensive than giving information, giving referrals, or pursuing collective cases. CASE STUDY The University of Liverpool Law Clinic advises clients that statements they make in statelessness determination procedures must match any they made in asylum procedures, or they can be refused documentation on credibility grounds. Inconsistencies or changes in history must be addressed prior to making an application. Credibility is paramount in a process where many people are undocumented and many facts are impossible to check due to distance and time. Authorities can see accompaniment as a threat, and they may feel paralegals are watching them. While corrupt or abusive officials may behave better because of this, they may also refuse to collaborate with the project on other activities if they felt uncomfortable with how paralegals behave. Building good relationships with authorities is key to avoiding such problems, and being as polite and tactful as possible always helps. As always, do not take any action that violates the “do no harm” principle. Helping clients fill out forms and other documents If a client is able to fill out a required form or write a letter, paralegals should not complete it themselves, unless the client is illiterate or has a disability preventing them from completing the form. The paralegal can help a client by offering corrections or tips for improvement. Paralegals might also assist by collecting documents from a remote area and delivering them to the relevant office, if the cost of travel or distance from the office is a problem for the client. Such an approach should only be used where communities are unable to take on document submission themselves, as it is important to encourage community involvement and demand for documentation, especially since the paralegal will not always be available for such assistance. Paralegals may also share template submissions and letters with clients, in order to further facilitate the client’s engagement with decision-makers via written means. DISCRIMINATION EMPOWERMENT SUSTAINABILITY DATA RELATED RESOURCES (EXTERNAL) RELATED SECTIONS (WITHIN) 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 | 1 07