This story first appeared on the Marquette University Law School blog.
This is the second part of a series celebrating Marquette University Law School’s recent PILS summer fellows through some representative examples — and, hopefully, pointing toward future public interest minded work. In the first entry, Andrea Bishop reflected on their work with the Eviction Defense Project. Today, Mia Stevenson, who spent the past summer at Coast to Coast Legal Aid Society of South Florida, reflects on the importance of legal aid organizations reaching out to the community to describe and explain the work they are doing.
By Mia Stevenson, 2L
As a Marquette Law School Public Interest Law Society Fellow, I spent my summer at Coast to Coast Legal Aid Society of South Florida, where I observed the important role that presence in the community plays for legal aid providers.
Attorneys, paralegals and interns attend outreach events, including community presentations, clinics and events such as backpack giveaways and resource fairs. I had the privilege of attending Fort Lauderdale FLITE Center’s resource fair, where we provided those in attendance with information about the presence of Coast to Coast Legal Aid of South Florida and the free civil legal services it provides. Although some of these outreach events are directly tied to providing legal information, many also emphasize giving back to the community, which is just as important and is among the values of legal aid providers.
The lack of access by everyday Americans to legal assistance and the justice system is why it is important for legal aid services to be visible in the community. Legal aid providers provide access to a wide variety of populations, including victims of domestic violence, rural populations, veterans and people who have been wrongfully evicted. If, however, the community is unaware of the presence of the legal aid providers, then it is more difficult for them to seek out and receive the help that they need.
Additionally, in underserved communities there is a large group of people who are unaware that some of the issues that they face could be resolved or mitigated with the help of an attorney. Community outreach events allow legal aid providers to interact with community members and explain the services that can be provided and how they can help. Community outreach as a form of service – though it can easily be underappreciated – is incredibly valuable to the people we serve.
