The 5th Annual Warner Bates Guardian ad Litem Benefit, a networking and fundraising event was held at the law firm’s offices in the Riverwood 100 Building, on Thursday, August 18, 2016.

Julie came into the Safe Families Office four days after her boyfriend held her hostage in their shared home. She had watched as he destroyed all of her clothes, cutting them into ribbons before burning them with cigarettes. He repeatedly threatened to kill her. On the third night, a cell phone slipped from her boyfriend’s hand while he slept. She called for help.

Thanks to Kayla Bell of King & Spalding, not only did the landlord drop all charges – he mailed Ms. Hernandez a check for $500.

Atlanta mom Jane West paid a $900 for her security deposit. But the house soon failed inspection, and she was never allowed to move in. When she asked for her $900 deposit back, the landlord ignored her.

“You helped my Nana. I remember you.”

These were Deputy Director Michael Lucas’s opening words at for the United Way of Greater Atlanta’s SPARK Prize competition held during the C3 Summit on April 21st.

Now in her first year of law school, Gabriela Medina-Nuñez previously spent a year teaching Spanish in a predominantly African-American, low-income middle school in Augusta. This experience moved her to go to law school. As she put it, “The kids came to school to eat and feel safe.”

Liz’s death has left a void in the Atlanta legal community and in our hearts. Please join us in honoring her memory.

After fourteen years, Mr. Reece’s landlord decided not to renew his lease. Mr. Reece couldn’t find a place to move by the deadline his landlord gave him. Three days later, he came home to find the locks had been changed – with all of his belongings still inside. The property manager insisted that the law was on the landlord’s side, but Mr. Reece knew his rights.

Ms. P’s boyfriend had been violent before, but his abuse had been escalating in frequency and intensity. After a recently attack, he was arrested and charged with simple battery. After the arrest, the Solicitor’s Office recommended that Ms. P visit the Safe Families Office.

An Atlanta grandmother and her grandsons lived in subsidized housing. From time to time, the grandsons would visit their mother, but the mother’s lifestyle meant that the boys always returned to their grandmother’s home – the only stable home they had.

We are grateful to our March 2017 volunteers.

“I am trying to do better for myself first to make it better for them. It’s something I’m learning. At 43, I’m learning, and I’m going to keep on learning, both for my kids and myself.”