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Lawyers taking to Youngstown streets to help residents with legal problems
TRACEY BLAIR
Legal News Reporter
Published: May 24, 2018
“We had developed a reputation as an organization that just says no to people,” Executive Director Steven McGarrity said. “Legal Aid for a long time has not been focused on going out into the community. We sort of waited in our offices for the phone to ring.”
Over the past year, attorneys with the nonprofit law firm serving the legal needs of low-income people in central and northeast Ohio have been busy getting out into the community -- rather than sitting behind desks waiting for the community to come to them.
One such community lawyering endeavor is the Neighborhood Law Project, a partnership between Legal Aid and other organizations. The goal of the NLP is to help residents overcome legal problems that are getting in the way of their work, education or health – in a very concentrated and strategic way.
Legal Aid attorneys have been going out into Youngstown’s neighborhoods to meet clients where they live, work and play for the pilot project. Two attorneys are working full-time on it, with plans for another to be hired soon.
The project, which was funded by a $350,000 Ohio Legal Assistance Foundation’s Neighborhood Stabilization Grant, provides holistic legal services to families within the Taft Promise Neighborhood.
“We are focusing on the neighborhood around Taft Elementary to raise the educational outcomes around that school,” McGarrity said. “There are lots of barriers in kids’ lives that affect their ability to get a good education, such as food and housing stability. Jumping from school to school is obviously going to affect their education.”
The goals of the NLP are to improve neighborhoods, increase affordable housing opportunities, remove barriers to employment and education and support entrepreneurial efforts for low-income neighborhoods. Lawyers can help resolve issues with housing, work, custody and family needs, finances and education. The idea is that families can focus more on being present at work, school and home when these problems are fixed.
“We wanted to focus our efforts where we could make the greatest impact,” said Christine Legow, Legal Aid’s associate director and manager of the NLP. “Taft allows us to concentrate on a 40-block area. Our work complements and enhances the other support the families are getting there. By being part of a holistic service approach, we’re seeking to make an impact where it’s critical – in children’s stability and educational success.”
The program was modeled after a similar effort around a charter school in Harlem.
“Our plan is to be in the Taft Promise neighborhood for the next four years, and then possibly expand into other neighborhoods,” McGarrity said. “This is part of a larger citywide effort to battle the scourge of land contracts and what they’re doing to Youngstown. Our hope is that someone hoping to do a land contract will come to us first. Land contracts are oftentimes very predatory.
“These companies are selling the dream of home ownership, and what people are getting is a nightmare. They don’t have the money to make needed repairs, and they are paying too much for the homes at high interest rates and then losing the homes to foreclosure. They would be much better off renting. These dilapidated and falling-apart homes are depressing entire neighborhoods. Another part of this is that we can pursue litigation against predatory sellers.”
The Neighborhood Law Project addresses housing issues throughout the city with the help of other community organizations, including United Way and the Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corp.
“It’s not about resolving one isolated legal issue,” McGarrity said. “It’s about wrapping services around that family – legal services, job training, educational support, safe housing – and supporting them so they can improve their overall lives.”
Another way the project is educating the public is through presentations and clinics, such as the Taft Promise Neighborhood Resource Mondays program. Attorneys have been presenting sessions on topics such as maximizing tax refunds, criminal record sealing for employment and legal rights of parents.
Ian Beniston, executive director of the Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corp., said Legal Aid attorneys are doing a great service to the area by helping residents with land contract reviews, increasing landlord accountability for property conditions and providing valuable advice to small business owners.
“The partnership has increased access to legal resources, which are sometimes out of reach for many low-income residents,” Beniston said.