Legal Aid of Western Michigan’s Post

Last week, OneJustice’s Jocelyn Ortiz and Miguel Martinez traveled to Washington D.C. to participate in #ABADay2024. After their time on the hill, both Jocelyn and Miguel mentioned some key takeaways: > There is bipartisan agreement that civil legal aid funding is important to members of congress as many of their constituents utilize services. > Congresspeople commented on the amazing work Legal Services Corporation grantees such as Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles, Inland Counties Legal Services, Neighborhood Legal Services of Los Angeles County, California Rural Legal Assistance, Inc., and Bay Area Legal Aid do everyday—their work makes a difference in local economies, communities, and for families. > It is abundantly clear that legal outcomes are better for small businesses, veterans, seniors, survivors of abuse, children, and tenants when they have access to civil legal aid, which is why robust funding for legal aid is critical. Miguel and Jocelyn met with members of congress and their staff, including Congresswoman Judy Chu (pictured), to discuss the critical importance of prioritizing funding for LSC. #DefendJustice #legalaid

Legal Aid of North Carolina had an incredible 2023, and what a joy it was to share a few of these milestones with the team. As impressive as 2023 was, we're already collaborating on some big projects to kick off 2024. More to come! #A2J #LegalTech #LegalInnovation #makelawbetter #collaboration

In the US, "You Have A Right to an Attorney"... unless it's a civil issue. Meaning, as City Attorney David Chiu puts it: “If you shoplift a toothbrush, you have the right to an attorney,” but “If you’re about to lose your child in a custody fight, or you need a civil restraining order— you’re out of luck.” Open Door Legal is working to make access to FREE civil legal services a right for San Franciscans. Solving everyday problems with legal solutions. Over the last two and half years that I've worked for ODL, It's been amazing to see what access to legal services can do for our most vulnerable community members. In fact, our work has cut homelessness in half in the Bayview over the last decade (while homelessness increased by more than 50% across the rest of the city). There are so many laws that exist to protect us... but they're ultimately useless if we can't enforce them because of an overly complicated (and expensive!) legal system. Check out this article in the SF Examiner about our work and the radical way we're trying to change the way we see/access our legal system: https://lnkd.in/g8HvV57n

Our legal team is taking part in the London Legal Walk on 18th June which involves a 10k walk in aid of vital frontline legal advice agencies. As the cost of living rises, the need for free legal help with debt, benefits, housing, asylum and domestic violence is now greater than ever. If you would like to sponsor me and the team, the link is below! Thanks for all your support. 🌞 🌳 🙌 🚶♀️ #pwcproud #londonlegalwalk #legalbusinesssolutions #pwclegal

Legal aid saves people - and government - money. A new report shows Colorado Legal Services provided a 619% return on investment in 2022, equaling $105 million in short and long-term financial benefits. Long-term benefits of providing free legal help with housing, family, public benefits, and other critical issues include future savings in community support costs, housing and support costs for homeless families, and law enforcement. https://lnkd.in/gQVvVyRU #LegalAidChangesLives #LegalAidWorks

JUST IN: The UK Government has launched its call for evidence to inform its civil legal aid review. The aim of this call for evidence is to obtain more information to further inform the Review of Civil Legal Aid and feed into policy development. The Review of Civil Legal Aid are inviting interested parties, who they say are crucial to the civil legal aid system, to submit evidence that will inform the Review. They are especially interested in hearing the views of civil legal aid practitioners, people who have received legal aid, representative bodies, and charities. (Source: Today's Family Lawyer) President of The Law Society England and Wales Nick Emmerson said 'We welcome the government's call for evidence and we will be responding in due course. Providers of civil legal aid continue to close their doors as it is no longer economically viable. The people who are affected most by this are families facing eviction, victims of abuse seeking the protection they need or a vulnerable person denied access to the care they're entitled to.' Statistics from the call for evidence paper show that almost 30% of housing and debt legal aid providers have closed down since 2018/201, and almost half of welfare benefit legal aid provider offices have also closed down. Read the full review at: https://lnkd.in/eyGhYJtm What do you think about the UK Government's call for evidence? Start a conversation below! #englishlaw #legalaid #thelawsociety #lawgazette #legalnews #ukgovernment #legalservices #solicitor #barrister #lawfirm #legaleagle Sources: https://lnkd.in/efjfs4jk https://lnkd.in/eU4M-5dZ

🌟 #FeatureFriday Spotlight: DC Bar Foundation 🌟 Meet our ongoing PARTNER CPRM user, the DC Bar Foundation, convening the remarkable DC Legal Aid Transformations Network since June 2021. Their goal? To develop a coordinated intake and referral system for civil legal aid, serving Washington D.C. residents through robust community coordination and partnerships. 🔍 The Journey > Began mapping the network in 2021, establishing a baseline. > Conducted follow-up surveys and updates in 2022, tracking changes across the ecosystem. > Focused on both quantitative (number of relationships) and qualitative measures (trust, value). 💡 Key Achievements: > Strengthened trust within the network from 2021 to 2023. > Increased the overall network value, especially in Power and Influence. > Expanded from 75 partners with 888 relationships to 103 partners with 1254 relationships. 📈 Impact: > Demonstrated growth and early success in forming new ties and creating value. > Identified focus areas for future improvement, like resource contribution. > Leveraged areas of growth, such as the increasing power and influence of the network. 🌐 Looking Ahead: > The Time 3 mapping process is underway, utilizing our latest PARTNER CPRM 2.0 interface. > Continuously improving the effectiveness of the Washington D.C. civil legal aid network. 🔗 Discover more about their transformative work and explore their public-facing dashboard: https://zurl.co/qktS #CommunityCoordination #LegalAidNetwork #PARTNERCPRM #VisibleNetworkLabs #NetworkGrowth #DCBarFoundation #EcosystemMapping

💜 Legal Aid for Domestic Violence Survivors: Get the Support You Deserve 💜 Survivors of domestic violence often face significant emotional, physical, and legal challenges. At Legal Resolution Group C.I.C, we believe that access to justice should never be out of reach, no matter your financial situation. With Legal Aid, survivors can receive critical legal support for: 📜 Protective Orders (e.g., Non-Molestation Orders) 👶 Child Custody and Protection 💔 Divorce and Separation We can connect you with expert Legal Aid solicitors who will guide you through the application process and ensure you get the protection and justice you deserve. 📝 Need help? Contact us today by filling out our form. We're here to help you take the next step towards safety and justice. https://bit.ly/4ekAPSL #DomesticViolenceSupport #LegalAid #LegalHelp #SurvivorSupport #JusticeForAll #ProtectYourself #FamilyLaw

Mark your calendars! 📅 The DOJ's Office for Access to Justice and the White House Legal Aid Interagency Roundtable (LAIR) are hosting a webinar on Federal Funding for Legal Aid on July 9. Learn more and register at the link!

When hundreds of community legal services around Australia who give FREE help to thousands of people each month are in strife, once again it will be people in financial distress, in violent and controlling relationships and who are homeless, most affected.  To add to this challenge, our sector is also struggling to retain trained, experienced and passionate staff— the lifeblood of this important work.  We are calling for additional investment in legal assistance as part of a comprehensive response to meet the justice needs of people across the country (in line with the NLAP Review findings). This will require a much larger Commonwealth contribution to all legal assistance providers under the next NLAP including at least an additional $125 million a year for community legal centres. #CommunityLaw  #FundEqualJustice Mark Dreyfus Jim Chalmers Katy Gallagher Mark Butler Amanda Rishworth Stephen Bates