The Atlanta Lawyer June/July 2020 Vol. 19, No. 1 | Page 31
grown exponentially as they have suffered
higher rates of job loss, housing and food
insecurity, and more. As an attorney, you
can help our clients gain stability in these
uncertain times by volunteering for a pro
bono case in our Asylum or Victims of
Violence programs or by supporting our
work with a financial contribution.
We welcome you to learn more about our
work and how you can get involved, by
visiting georgiaasylum.org or contacting
Alpa Amin, Director of Legal Services
([email protected]).
Atlanta Legal Aid Society
Atlanta Legal Aid Society was born out
of the civil rights movement. We make a
systemic difference by fighting poverty and
oppression and pushing for racial justice.
Many of our clients are victims of housing
and job discrimination because of their race.
We see firsthand that many of our Black
clients are afraid to trust law enforcement
when facing domestic violence. Through
this important time in our history, we
continue to fight for our clients against
injustice and discrimination every day. By
law, Atlanta Legal Aid can only provide
information about people's rights during
a protest (rather than give legal advice
or tell anyone to protest); we continue to
provide public resources and information at
GeorgiaLegalAid.org.
Join us as a volunteer for Atlanta Legal Aid
and use your legal skills to join this fight.
Right now, the key civil legal issues we see
clients face involve those most basic of
needs: safety, support, and somewhere to
come home to. By advocating for a client
in a Temporary Protective Order hearing,
you can help ensure a client is safe. In our
Public Benefits Project, you can reach out to
clients and assist them with accessing public
benefits, including special COVID-19
resources. In volunteering for housing
cases, you are the difference between
homelessness and a client having a safe place
to call home. Volunteers can connect with
these projects and others on our website
at legalaidprobono.org or by emailing the
Pro Bono Director, Cari Hipp, at chipp@
atlantalegalaid.org. Information about
contributing to our work in other ways can
be found at https://atlantalegalaid.org/waysto-give/.
Atlanta Volunteer
Lawyers Foundation
As Atlanta’s largest provider of pro bono
legal services, Atlanta Volunteer Lawyers
Foundation’s mission is to create safe and
stable homes and families by inspiring the
fight for equal justice. Our advocacy focuses
on two main issues: landlord/tenant disputes
and intimate partner abuse – both of which
have significant intersections with systemic
racism in Georgia.
COMMUNITY
• Studies have shown that women, girls,
and non-binary people of color are
hyper-vulnerable to abuse and often are
apprehensive about calling the police
on their abusers out of fear of being
arrested themselves. Our Standing with
Survivors program is a great example
of how developing relationships
with law enforcement and educating
and training police officers can help
survivors of color.
• Housing inequality is not raceneutral
and disproportionately harms
communities of color. Our Eviction
Defense program, emergency financial
assistance program, and tenant
advocacy work combat the effects of
systemic racism in Atlanta by allocating
legal and financial resources to tenants
in crisis.
You can help by volunteering. We need both
remote volunteers and front line volunteers
who are willing to stand with our clients in
court. We need all hands on deck: attorneys,
paralegals, law students, and anyone else
who is committed to the fight for equal
justice. Learn more about our volunteer
opportunities at avlf.org/volunteer.
You can also help by donating. With your
support, we can continue to stand with
our Black and Brown clients against racial
injustice in our community. Visit avlf.org/
donate to change a life today.
Connecting Lawyers with Offices and Offices with Lawyers.
LawSpaceMatch.com: Working from home not cutting it? Find sanitized law offices
with empty LawSpace for lease. www.LawSpacematch.com is exclusively for lawyers
sharing LawSpace. Search for LawSpace by zip code and let us do the work. Sign up
and save your search. Receive email notifications when LawSpace becomes
available in your desired area.
www.atlantabar.org THE ATLANTA LAWYER 31