Legal Aid of Southeast and Central Ohio receives $359,000 for pro bono initiative
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Kathryn Fanlund
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(202) 295-1520
WASHINGTON—The Legal Services Corporation (LSC) is awarding $359,000 to Legal Aid of Southeast and Central Ohio (LASCO). The LSC Pro Bono Innovation Fund (PBIF) grant will enable the nonprofit legal services organization to expand efforts to engage volunteers in assisting low-income Ohioans with their civil legal problems.
LASCO’s Pro Bono Project has developed the Home Safe initiative, a three-stage model to help survivors of crime, abuse and trafficking receive legal help. LASCO will use the PBIF grant to expand Home Safe to address evolving community needs, expand trainings for attorneys, increase statewide collaboration and continue volunteer mentorship. They will also further refine their model to create a blueprint for other legal services organizations to replicate. Expanded services will assist survivors and their families with issues involving the Violence Against Women Act, U Visa and Special Immigrant Juvenile Status.
"We are grateful to Congress for recognizing the important role pro bono service plays in expanding access to justice," said Kate McGarvey, Executive Director of LASCO. "The Pro Bono Innovation Fund reinforces what we see every day: dedicated volunteers are essential to closing the justice gap. This grant will help us grow the Home Safe initiative, expand statewide training and collaboration, and prepare additional volunteer attorneys to support survivors of crime, abuse, and trafficking. We are excited about the opportunity to reach more people in need and to develop a model that can strengthen pro bono services well beyond our own communities. We are especially grateful to Congress for supporting investments that will help survivors access the legal assistance they need to achieve safety, stability, and independence."
With limited capacity and resources, legal services organizations nationwide depend upon volunteers to expand the reach of legal assistance in their local communities. Low-income Americans do not receive any or enough legal help with 92% of their civil legal problems.
“When your home, health or family is in jeopardy, access to legal help should not depend upon your ability to pay for it,” said Ron Flagg, President of LSC. “Pro bono services amplify the impact that legal services organizations are able to have across the country for low-income Americans seeking justice.”
Since the PBIF grant program began in 2014, LSC has awarded 200 grants totaling more than $55 million. Funding for the PBIF program is included in LSC’s congressional appropriation.
More information about the Pro Bono Innovation Fund is available here.