Over 100 asylum-seekers, as well as hundreds of others who are facing deportation, have been aided by a free legal assistance program in Portland, Oregon. Unlike in criminal court, people in immigration court aren’t provided with an attorney if they can’t afford one. Seeing this urgent need, Portland’s city council last year approved the Universal Representation project, and in its first year, nearly 500 people have received much-needed legal help.

“Most who receive help are families and people fleeing persecution in their home countries,” The Oregonian reported, and come from countries including Colombia, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Honduras, Iran, Iraq, Mexico, Nicaragua, Russia, Ukraine, and Venezuela. Nearly two dozen have been unaccompanied minors, or children who came to the U.S. by themselves and are particularly vulnerable.

Funding has come from local resources and taxes, but the state did recently approve “an additional $2 million to expand the service statewide—the first state to do so in the nation.” Of course, having legal help doesn’t guarantee a successful outcome, but it can make it more likely than having none at all: “Represented immigrants in detention who had a custody hearing were four times more likely to be released from detention,” the American Immigration Council said in 2016.

“Whether or not you have a lawyer in immigration court is ultimately the most determinant factor in whether or not you win your case,” Jordan Cunnings, an Innovation Law Lab staff attorney, said last year. “It's a very emotional experience and we're just really thrilled to now have the opportunity to sort of step in and support people who are at risk of removal here in Oregon.” Representation “doesn't mean you will win,” said program manager Stephen Manning, “but it means you get a fairer shake.” And that’s all families are asking for—a chance.