The Power of Pro Bono Legal Services to Change Lives https://grants.dudleytdoughertyfoundation.org/proposals-2018/the-power-of-pro-bono-legal-services-to-change-lives https://grants.dudleytdoughertyfoundation.org/@@site-logo/sitelogo-75x75.png

The Power of Pro Bono Legal Services to Change Lives

Additional Information
Used for	Funding from the Dudley Dougherty Foundation will be used to support VLS’s community-based legal advice and intake clinics for the low-income and indigent residents of Travis, Bastrop and Hays County. Expenses incurred to provide the nearly 160 clinics every year include attorney volunteer coordination and support, building occupancy fees (for the remote locations where the clinics are held), security (especially crucial to the domestic violence victims we serve), and childcare expenses at the clinics (so working people with no childcare options can attend the clinics and snacks for the children).
Benefits	A mother of two in an abusive relationship; an elderly couple facing eviction after decades in their home; a disabled man navigating the complexity of accessing public benefits; frightened immigrant parents preparing their children for separation due to deportation. Thirty-seven years ago, a group of lawyers founded VLS to improve access to justice for individuals and families like them and ensure they received they help they needed to deal with life-altering situations that threatened their safety, their rights, their health, and their families. Leveraging the time, talent, and expertise of attorney volunteers, VLS’s legal advice and intake clinics are an essential means to provide life-changing legal help and protect those struggling to meet their basic human needs of housing, security/safety, employment, family, education and health.
Proposal Description	VLS’s access-to-justice services are provided free of charge to those meeting income eligibility guidelines – individuals and families living at or below 125% of federal poverty guidelines ($31,375 for a family of four), with discretion for individuals, such as victims of domestic violence, living at or below 187.5% ($47,063 for a family of four). Demographics of our clients: • 87 percent reside at or below 125% of the poverty level ($30,750 for a family of four); • 11% are living with a disability; • 45% are Hispanic; • 21% are African-American; • 83% are under the age of 60; and • 68% are female/32% are male. VLS seeks to continue providing pro bono civil legal services to low-income and indigent residents of Travis, Bastrop and Hays County through our legal advice and intake clinics. These clinics serve as the primary entry point to accessing pro bono civil legal assistance from VLS. Clinic attendees receive immediate legal advice from an attorney volunteer about their pressing civil legal matter. The volunteer documents the brief facts and makes a recommendation on how to proceed (e.g. advice only or extended legal assistance such as direct representation). VLS offers about 65 legal advice clinics in Travis, Bastrop, and Hays County. These clinics are held in the evening to facilitate attendance by working people and are located at public schools, community centers, and libraries easily accessible by bus and in areas with higher rates of poverty. Security, childcare, and interpretation/ translation services are also provided. VLS also offers targeted legal advice and intake clinics (at least 12/year) such as our monthly clinic for the Capital Area AIDS Legal Project and as a member of the Texas Here to Stay coalition. Further, VLS has established bi-monthly intake clinics (75/year) in rural areas of Travis County – Lakeway, Manor, Pflugerville, and in south Austin - to better serve those that have been pushed out and away from needed services due to increasing costs of living. From these clinics, pro bono cases are opened to protect victims of domestic violence; help families fight wrongful evictions/foreclosures and stay in their homes; support children, seniors, and veterans denied access to public benefits; and more. Funding from the Dudley Dougherty Foundation will be used to support VLS’s community-based legal advice and intake clinics for the low-income and indigent residents of Travis, Bastrop and Hays County. Expenses incurred to provide the nearly 160 clinics every year include attorney volunteer coordination and support, building occupancy fees (for the remote locations where the clinics are held), security (especially crucial to the domestic violence victims we serve), and childcare expenses at the clinics (so working people with no childcare options can attend the clinics and snacks for the children).