by Patricia A. Killigrew, Esq.
Vermont Bar Foundation 2015: Reality
Reality: What is it? Merriam-Webster defines “reality” as “the quality or state of being real” and “something that is neither derivative nor dependent but exists necessarily.”1
Yet, in our current culture of “Reality TV,”
do we really know or understand what reality is? Ask those who enjoy a steady diet of
Reality TV to name the Kardashian sisters,
and you will probably get a complete list.2
Yet, ask those same people to name one or
two justices of the Supreme Court, and you
are likely to get a blank stare.3
Perhaps, the attraction of Reality TV is
the escape it provides from reality. That is
understandable when, for many, reality is
facing a legal issue and simply not knowing what to do or where to turn. Or, it is
not having the means to hire a lawyer. It is a
feeling of hopelessness and despair.
The Vermont Bar Foundation strives to
change that reality with its financial support
of different programs designed to provide
access to justice to a swath of Vermonters. Its primary means of doing this is via
its grants program, which annually awards
funds to various non-profit organizations to
underwrite their provision of legal services.
Consider the following realities and how
the Foundation-sponsored grantees have
provided positive change.
Reality: Young Mom
Young Mom has two children fathered
by different men. She lives with the father
of the youngest child, who regularly physically abuses her, often in front of the children. The older child’s father is under investigation for sexual abuse of his child. Young
Mom receives notice of three hearings in
two counties, both family and criminal. She
is confused, terrified, and worried about
the children as they had been removed
from her care.
Enter Grantee Have Justice—Will Travel’s Legal Empowerment Assistance Program (“LEAP”); see change. LEAP helped
Young Mom respond to the allegations
against her, write a motion to continue, understand and gather evidence important for
her case, subpoena witnesses, and prepare
testimony. After several hearings, Young
Mom now has the protection of a relief
from abuse order for herself and her children, the custody of both children, an order
for supervised contact between the children and their fathers, and a divorce case
and a parentage case before the courts to
grant her and her children long-term safety
www.vtbar.org
and stability. Young Mom is now employed.
She and her children are receiving counseling and moving toward enjoying healthy
productive lives.
The Foundation helped change that reality!
Reality: Elderly Mom
A lifelong Vermont resident, eighty-nine
year-old Elderly Mom has lived by herself for thirteen years in the home she has
owned for over fifty years. Four years ago,
her eldest son moved in with Elderly Mom;
that is when her nightmare began. Son literally took over Elderly Mom’s home. He bullied and frightened her until she finally was
forced to leave her own home to live with
a daughter in another state. Son refused Elderly Mom’s and his siblings’ pleas to leave
the home. Worse, the police refused to remove Son. The once neat, clean house is
now in shambles, filled with trash and debris. Bills go ignored and unpaid.
Enter Grantee Vermont Legal Aid Elder
Law Project (the “Project”); see change. Six
months after being forced out of her home,
Elderly Mom was referred to the Project.
Working with Elderly Mom and her family,
the Project developed a plan for her safe return to Vermont. Project attorneys filed for
a restraining order and convinced the court
that Son was financially exploiting Elderly
Mom. The Court ordered Son out of the
home. With this order providing safety and
protection, Elderly Mom was able to move
back into her home and is living there again
with the assistance of her granddaughter.
The Foundation helped change that reality!
Reality: Angry Mom
Daughter is twelve years old and lives
with her Angry Mom, who has some serious
anger management issues. Daughter is often on the receiving end of that anger. For
example, once, when Daughter was returning from a school trip, there was some confusion about who was picking her up from
the bus. Angry Mom arrived and launched
into a tirade, which was so severe that the
school was forced to call the police. Dad
is not able to afford an attorney, but is
able to file a motion with the court seeking
intervention.
Enter Grantee Vermont Law School Children First! (“Children First!”); see change.
The Family Court appointed Children First!
to represent Daughter. Staff attorneys and
student clinicians met with all the parTHE VERMONT BAR JOURNAL • SUMMER 2015
ties and with Daughter at her school. The
teachers revealed a chilling picture of the
girl’s home life; she would come to school
regularly far too tired to participate in
school activities in any meaningful way
because Angry Mom would intentionally
keep Daughter up at night as a form of
punishment, often screaming at Daughter for hours. When it became clear Angry Mom had no intention of agreeing to
any compromise that might end this cycle,
Children First! was compelled to call the
school personnel as witnesses to testify in
family court to these details. In the end,
Dad was awarded custody. Angry Mom responded by promptly moving out of state.
Today, Daughter is living with Dad and doing well in school.
The Foundation helped change that reality!
As a member of the Vermont Bar, the
Foundation’s reality—its support of programs focused on providing equal access
to justice for all Vermonters—is part of your
reality. Perhaps you do not view your support of the Foundation as provocative as
Reality TV viewing. Yet, recall the axiom that
truth is stranger than fiction. The vignettes
above are but a snippet of the truth-stranger-than-fiction cases that are the realities of
our fellow Vermonters. Through your support, the Foundation is helping to re-cast
those realities with its funding of programs
that enable positive, meaningful changes in
peoples’ lives. You don’t get more real than )ѡ