Legal Community Helps Survivors of Intimate Partner Violence
July 25, 2017
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We are pleased to report that, thanks to the generosity of attendees of Street Law’s 2016 Awards Dinner, we’ve successfully completed a new pilot program to educate survivors of intimate partner violence (IPV)!
Street Law recruited and trained 25 volunteer attorneys and legal professionals from law firms and corporations. The volunteers then taught lessons at shelters run by My Sister’s Place in Washington, DC, and Partnership Against Domestic Violence in Georgia.
Through the seven lessons, participants learned about their rights and responsibilities in rental properties and in the workplace, as well as how to obtain and use credit and how to address credit problems. Participant materials were offered in English and Spanish.
“Upon starting the second lesson, a resident shared that she took the prior week’s class on lease negotiation and used that information to help herself during a lease dispute. It filled my heart. I know it’s cliché, but working with Street Law has been incredibly rewarding, and I cannot express my enthusiasm [enough] for this program.”
– Volunteer instructor
This pilot effort has laid the groundwork for additional programs of this type in the future. We plan to continue reaching IPV survivors, in addition to vulnerable youth populations, through Street Law’s Legal Life Skills Program.
Special thanks to the attorneys and legal professionals who volunteered their time to make this program happen. This pilot program was powered by volunteers from the following groups and organizations:
- The Home Depot legal department
- Marriott International, Inc. legal department
- Alston & Bird LLP
- Arnall Golden Gregory LLP
- Coburn & Greenbaum PLLC
- Eversheds Sutherland LLP
- Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice LLP
- The Hub Project
- Atlanta Volunteer Lawyer Foundation’s Safe and Stable Homes Project
- Retired and current Federal Government attorneys
To learn more about Street Law’s work with survivors of intimate partner violence, please contact Yolanda Johnson.
