How we meet our mission
In order to meet our mission, Community Legal Aid structures it's work around advocacy priorities, legal practice groups, and projects.
Legal Practice Groups
Community Legal Aid’s practice groups define the organization’s advocacy priorities within each legal practice area. Each advocate is assigned to one or more practice groups and support each other through case discussion, cross-training, and co-counseling cases. By coming together, advocates can better identify trends and systemic problems facing our clients and communities and are well positioned to collaborate on impactful solutions.
- Consumer
- Criminal Records
- Education
- Family
- Housing
- Immigration
- Public Benefits
- Tax
Advocacy Priorities
Legal Aid's advocacy priorities are adopted each year by our Board of Trustees. These areas of need serve as beacons for our work with clients, in the community, and through advocacy. Our current priorities are:
Supporting Low-income Families and Special Populations
Central to our work is providing support for low-income individuals and families, as well as for special, vulnerable populations, including the elderly, those with language, cultural, or educational barriers, those with disabilities, and veterans.
Preserving the Home
We prioritize cases that support access to affordable and safe housing, both public and private.
Maintaining Economic Stability
Families and individuals must be economically viable in order to survive. To this end, we work toward prevention of unemployment, resolution to issues with the IRS, protection from predatory lending and unfair sales practices, and income stability for those disabled or otherwise unable to obtain employment.
Ensuring Safety & Health
We prioritize cases that support safety from domestic violence, stalking, and sexual assault. Additionally, we work to preserve health for individuals and communities through individual representation and policy advocacy.
Protecting Access to Justice
Community Legal Aid places a high priority on activities designed to involve the entire community in ensuring access to justice. We place special attention on pro bono services of the private bar, education of organizations serving low-income clients, advocacy at regional and national levels on our priorities, and responding to the needs of the local communities we serve.
Projects
Legal Aid's projects organize our legal work, collaborative partnerships, and outreach activities to most effectively meet the needs of our clients while also being stewards for positive change in our community.
Population-based projects provide holistic legal services to specific at-risk populations. Several other projects are aimed at mitigating a threat or barrier specific to low-income residents.
Each project has a core mission of how it supports the organization’s overarching vision.
(Note: We are in the process of updating our web content. Check back often for new and updated information as it becomes available. We appreciate your patience.)
- Advocating for Returning Citizens (ARC)
- Debt Relief
- Fair Housing
- Health, Education, Advocacy, and Law (HEAL)
- HelpLine
- Homeownership
- Immigrants and Refugees
- I Promise
- Learning is for Everyone Project
- Legal Assistance to Victims
- Low-Income Taxpayer Clinic (LITC)
- Neighborhood Law Project
- Parenthood
- Public Benefits
- Tenant Assistance Project
- Veterans
- Volunteer Legal Services Program
