A few weeks ago, I reported and wrote a story about a nonprofit in the city that gives free legal counseling to people served by a soup kitchen in the East Village. It was really encouraging to get a look at what these guys do–some of them work 80-plus hours a week, but they still show up on Saturday mornings to volunteer. These types of stories are a real joy to report. I’ll post the first bit of it here, but you can read the full thing over at RedeemTheCity.com.
East Village — At 9:00 a.m. on the second Saturday of each month, a dozen volunteers gather on the second floor of a soup kitchen in Manhattan’s East Village. But they’re not here to dispense food to the people waiting in line outside. They’re lawyers, and they want to give people free legal advice.
Open Hands Legal Services is a non-profit that talks to people facing legal trouble and advises them about housing law, public benefits, criminal law, and immigration. Currently, the organization does not have the budget to represent clients itself, but if a person needs a lawyer, Open Hands points them in the right direction. “A lot of times, people get discouraged in going for legal aid, just because of the hoops that they have to jump through,” said Ime Imeh, the organization’s Executive Director.
The government offers many types of help at the federal, state, and local levels, but many people who need the aid either don’t know that it exists, or don’t know how to apply for it. Usually, people slip through the cracks for small reasons: a missing form, a forgotten appointment, or unclear directions to the offices where those appointments take place. “They can’t get in the door,” Imeh said. “So what we do is bring the services to the people.”
Read the full story here.
