Our “Justice Works for All” legal clinic returns to East Central Community Center on June 15th.
The Center for Justice will host a free legal clinic next Wednesday evening, June 15th, at the city’s East Central Community Center beginning at 5 p.m. and going to 7 p.m. As with the clinic we The purpose of the event is to allow neighborhood residents free access to lawyers.
Legal intern Drew Pollom and volunteer attorney Terri Sloyer at East Central Community Center earlier this year.
Wednesday evening’s clinic is the second the Center for Justice has hosted as part of a new “Justice Works for All” series. The clinics are taking the place of the “Street Law” program that, for the past five years, has been a fixture on Saturdays in Riverfront Park.
“Our thinking is that we can reach more people who need our services by going directly into their neighborhoods,” explains Suellen Pritchard, CFJ’s Community Advocacy director. “What we were finding with Street Law is that we were seeing the same clientele by just offering the service in one location. So this is a way we can reach a broader cross-section of the community that needs our services.”
The Center conducted a survey in 2008 that revealed a wide demand for free legal advice, a finding that was confirmed with a well-attended legal clinic the Center hosted at the West Central Community Center in the spring of that year. With the new “Justice Works for All” initiative, the Center hopes to host the free clinics on a bi-monthly or quarterly basis at community centers and other suitable facilities around the city.
“One of the great things about Street Law,” Pritchard said, “is that we were able to partner with so many volunteer lawyers in the city’s legal community. Certainly our hope is to replicate that with the ‘Justice Works for All’ clinics.”
The East Central Community Center is at 500 S. Stone Street and Wednesday evenings event is scheduled to run from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. We’ll provide free food and child care assistance for those who attend.
For more information contact Suellen Pritchard, or Virla Spencer at 835-5211.
