Hannibal Heredia of Hedgepeth, Heredia & Rieder recently drew upon his Spanish-speaking skills and settled a solely-Spanish-speaking domestic violence survivor’s divorce, winning her sole legal and physical custody (with the father having supervised visitation) and $1,100/month in child support. This excellent outcome came just three months after the divorce was filed. Congratulations and thank you, Hannibal!
Message from Blair Ellin Walker
Hello AVLF friends and family!
As I prepare to run my first marathon, I’m writing to ask for your kindness and support.
This past weekend I set out for 8 miles in falling snow. It was slick, it was slushy, it felt like running in sand – and I loved it (visual proof below). If you know me at all, you know this is wildly out of character. Three years ago my husband drove me to what would have been my first 5K. As we approached the dropoff spot and I looked out at the cold, rainy conditions, I asked him to detour and instead wound up at IHOP gleefully eating pancakes and eggs.
My first marathon experience will be conquering the Boston Marathon. I’ve witnessed this event as a spectator for 16 years – 500,000 people line the streets from Hopkinton, Massachusetts, to the finish line on Boylston Street. I’ve never seen anything like the amount of support and pride displayed on Marathon Monday, and it will impel me to put one foot in front of the other for 26.2 miles.
As a John Hancock employee charity runner, I am fundraising for Atlanta Volunteer Lawyers Foundation, the largest provider of pro bono legal services in Greater Atlanta. AVLF works tirelessly to provide equal access to our civil legal system for people who cannot afford legal representation. It’s also helmed by my Dad, who has spent much of his life promoting these same ideas. I’m incredibly proud to run for AVLF and help fund all the work done by my Dad and the staff. My Crowdrise fundraising page is here.
Over the coming weeks, I’ll share some of AVLF’s stories of success, as well as updates from the road as I build mileage and take on new challenges (single digit temperatures are heading my way!). Thank you in advance for your messages and financial support. They will keep me moving, particularly on the days when it’s snowy, I’m tired, and the only thing I want is a stack of pancakes.
Love,
Blair
AVLF & Friends Create Happy Holidays
Thanks to our generous friends, four families – a total of 20 children – will have a very happy holiday season. Last month, Atlanta Volunteer Lawyers Foundation identified deserving clients who would have trouble affording holiday celebrations this year. With wish lists in hand, volunteers from the AVLF Junior Board, Paul Hastings, Hunton & Williams, and UnitedLex went to work, and gifts began pouring in.
AVLF staff members gleefully shared carloads of wrapped presents with each family. One of the youngest recipients declared the generosity “a Christmas miracle.” Thank you to everyone who participated – as usual, we are humbled and so proud.
In addition to all the gift giving, before the New Year, Standing with Our Neighbors staff members helped coordinate a neighborhood food drive with a concerned citizen who learned about AVLF from a friend. Thanks to their generosity, five families received food that day. As AVLFer Christal Reynolds puts it, “Good things are happening in Thomasville Heights, and I’m privileged to be a part of the journey.” We couldn’t agree more.
Board Member Spotlight: Tyler Wright
Quick snapshot:
Tyler Wright CPA/ABV, CFE
BBA Accounting – University of Georgia
Master of Accountancy – University of Georgia
Senior Manager – IAG Forensics & Valuations
Board Member – Georgia Association of Certified Fraud Examiners
How did you get involved with Atlanta Volunteer Lawyers Foundation? Subsequent to joining IAG Forensics in the Summer of 2015, I was seeking an opportunity to find an organization that did something with those that may need a helping hand in the Atlanta area. I had previously been a board member of the Jeremiah House, a Christian halfway house in Athens, Georgia, assisting men with the recovery process for drug and alcohol addiction. Through my involvement in the Jeremiah house, I had met some great people who really just needed a helping hand and a kind word to get back on their feet. My father, who was the director of Jeremiah House, moved to a new role with a drug and alcohol treatment center in Atlanta, and subsequently Jeremiah House was forced to close. I had sought out other similar associations, but did not find what I thought to be the right fit until a lunch with Marty Ellin in July 2015. During lunch, Marty described AVLF and I talked about Jeremiah House. A friendship sprouted. At the end of lunch, Marty asked if I was interested in joining the AVLF Junior Board, and I accepted his offer.
Give us your best elevator pitch – what does AVLF mean to you? Each of us in the Atlanta community has our own strengths and weaknesses, and many of us have been blessed with certain opportunities or doors that have been opened. All of this has led each of us to where we are both personally and professionally. Throughout my life, my parents ingrained in me a sense of community and a desire to always leave things better than I had found them. AVLF fosters this community involvement by offering a system to connect low income families in need of basic civil legal representation with members of the legal community with the expertise to assist.
What is your favorite AVLF memory/experience? In September 2015, my wife and I attended the 2nd Annual AVLF At The Movies showing of Paycheck to Paycheck – The Life and Times of Katrina Gilbert. At the time, I was new to AVLF. But after this event, I knew that I had found the right organization to support with my time, my experiences and expertise, and financially. Each day I spend with AVLF and those involved with the organization confirms this decision.
What are you proudest of professionally? Shortly after our marriage in 2008, my wife, Dr. Lisa Wright, joined the Animal Hospital of Sandy Springs as an associate veterinarian. In May 2015, Lisa became one of the two owners of the animal hospital. Subsequent to the purchase, Lisa an I have worked together to strengthen the finances of the clinic. Sharing my expertise to assist my wife with her professional dream and aspirations has been the highlight of my professional career.
And personally? May 2017 will be my ninth wedding anniversary to my best friend and partner in life, Lisa Wright. Lisa and I have two amazing, energetic and loving kids, Ty and Cami. My family is my world, and Lisa and I work hard each day to show each of our children the importance of giving back to our community.
Michael Lucas on Pro Bono Happy Hour Podcast
The Pro Bono Institute‘s Pro Bono Happy Hour Podcast includes a collection of lively conversations about law firm pro bono news, infrastructure, and best practices featuring insightful and entertaining expert guests.
On December 9, PBI talked to AVLF Deputy Director Michael Lucas about being a leader in the public interest community, providing the “best legal representation money can’t buy,” and trends in access to justice. This includes Atlanta Volunteer Lawyers Foundation’s new, place-based initiatives designed to take pro bono services directly into the community. This podcast is available on iTunes and YouTube.
AVLF Wins Nonprofit Moving the Needle Award
On Thu
rsday, December 8, the Center for Civic Innovation held Atlanta’s second annual Civic Impact Awards. Nearly 200 friends of the Center celebrated the individuals and organizations working day in and day out to solve Atlanta’s most pressing social challenges.
AVLF is the proud recipient of this year’s Moving the Needle award for our Standing with Our Neighbors initiative. According to their blog, “The Atlanta Volunteer Lawyers Foundation won this award as an organization making significant headway against an issue facing Atlanta. AVLF was selected for their efforts in Thomasville Heights to keep students in school and families in safe, stable homes since schools cannot thrive with a student body forced to live in unstable housing with deplorable conditions.”
We’re so proud and honored!
AVLF Receives Extra Wish
The Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta’s Extra Wish is a unique donor opportunity that provides monetary contributions for tangible goods – smaller items that don’t fit into a traditional funding stream – that contribute in a clear way to the success of nonprofit organizations and the people they serve.
Through an annual opportunity catalog, Extra Wish matches a nonprofit’s wish (such as microchips for adoptable pets or gas cards for refugee families) with donors who are interested in making a contribution. Donors can leaf through the catalog and choose from 25 Atlanta-area nonprofits’ wishes.
Atlanta Volunteer Lawyers Foundation is thrilled to announce that we were included in this year’s Extra Wish catalog – and our 2016 wish was already granted by a generous anonymous donor. In addition to HEPA filter vacuum cleaners and allergen-proof bedding to help us provide short-term relieve to tenants in substandard housing, AVLF received an extra $7,100 in general support, bringing the total donation to $10,000. Thanks to this amazing gift, our clients will sleep easy while we fight the big fights.
One Volunteer’s Story: “I wanted to give her hope.”
Ha Pham has been volunteering at Atlanta Volunteer Lawyers Foundation for the past several weeks. Not only has she been tremendously helpful to to Cole Thaler and the Saturday Lawyer Program, she’s made a huge impact on the lives of our clients – and she learned something about herself in the process.
Tell us about yourself! What path led you to the practice of law and to Atlanta?
I immigrated to the United States as a young child. Living in the Atlanta area is the first memory I have as a child. As an immigrant family, we had nothing. We relied on charitable organizations and kind strangers to help us along the way. My family was always moving around looking for better opportunities and a way out of poverty — and sometimes we moved because we didn’t have a choice. I ended up in California and went to school and began practicing law there. My parents couldn’t afford to live there anymore and when they sent me off to college, they moved back to Georgia. I followed suit, returning to Georgia to be closer to family and take care of my father who passed away from cancer.
What led you to volunteer with AVLF? Why do you think working on behalf of low-income clients is important?
I started to volunteer at AVLF for selfish reasons. I needed to restart my legal career after being away from it for eight years due to my own cancer diagnosis. I thought what better way to get some experience than by helping others. So I came in as a volunteer for the Saturday Lawyer Program. Without any resources and never practicing in Georgia, I didn’t feel comfortable taking on any cases even though I was an experienced litigator. I had no office and no support staff. I figured one day of screening clients won’t kill me.
But during my screening that day, I met with Ms. Jones. She was crying and distressed and frazzled. She explained that drug dealers were running her apartment complex and her living conditions made her a prisoner in her own home. She had suffered a trauma to the point where she started to question her own sanity. I knew what that felt like from my own personal experience from growing up in poverty, and from going through trauma. I wanted to give her hope to move on from her horrible experience, and to feel like she had some control over her life and the power to make it better with a little help. I waited to see if any other attorney was going to take her case because I thought it would be better for her to get somebody with Georgia experience. When nobody responded, I stepped up because I knew that this moment would affect how she viewed the rest of her life. I wrote a letter, made a phone call, and exchanged some emails, and changed somebody’s life for the better. That is the amazing gift and power that my career has given me.
What would you say to an attorney who is not sure whether he or she should take on a pro bono case?
For any attorney out there that is on the fence about taking on a case, I would tell them to make the leap and change a life. A simple letter or phone call is sometimes all they need. If you don’t have resources or experience, AVLF provides wonderful support, guidance, and work space. For new attorneys out there, this is a wonderful way to start a career, and spread positivity. If you have just a day, come in for a Saturday Lawyer Day screening.
Board Member Spotlight: Christin Camp Lumpkin
Quick snapshot: Christin Camp Lumpkin. I graduated from Samford University in 1997 with a BA in English Literature, and Vanderbilt Law School in 2000 where I served as the Senior Notes Editor for the Vanderbilt Law Review. I started my career on the Corporate team at King & Spalding. After a little over five years at King & Spalding, I left to join the legal department at Global Payments Inc., which is a leading worldwide provider of payment technology services. I just hit my eleven year anniversary at Global Payments (!)
How did you get involved with Atlanta Volunteer Lawyers Foundation? I got involved with AVLF through Walt Davis, who is a fellow Vanderbilt grad. He suggested I meet with Paul Murphy and Dena Hong, who told me more about AVLF. I was very impressed with how 
passionate both Paul and Dena were about the organization, as well as how much AVLF is able to accomplish. I joined the Board of Directors last summer and am thrilled to be a part of it.
Give us your best elevator pitch – what does AVLF mean to you? AVLF’s programs serve so many in our community in need, but the Safe Families Office has caught my interest the most. As a woman and a mother, I can only imagine how frightening it must be for these women to be in such a horrific situation where they are subject to abuse and also fearful for their children. The thought of taking their abuser to court must seem overwhelming and frankly not possible given the lack of knowledge of the system and in many cases the lack of financial resources. The Safe Families Office can help these women with these issues, and often they can leave the Safe Families Office the very same day with a protective order. The fact that this office exists and women and their children can gain power knowing their options, including safety planning, is incredible and so important.
What are you most looking forward to as a new Board member? I’m most looking forward to continuing to get involved and help out as much as I can. The people I have met on the Board are really friendly and compassionate people, and the staff members are top-notch. I hope to spread the word about the programs that AVLF offers and get others involved who may not know all the wonderful and important things that can be accomplished through AVLF.
What are you proudest of professionally? I have been with Global Payments through various management changes as well as business directions. It’s been exciting to be at a place where things can move fairly quickly, and where the industry changes all the time, because it forces you to continue to push yourself and learn. I’ve had a variety of responsibilities in the legal department and they continue to grow, and I’m proud to have worked my way up the ladder. The most rewarding thing for me is that I have built great relationships with my long-term clients here and I have learned just as much from them (probably more!) as they have from me. I’m also very proud to be a member of the Board of Directors for AVLF. I continue to be impressed with the wonderful people who work there and how dedicated they are to the organization. They have all made a conscious choice to work for this incredible cause even though I’m sure they could work anywhere.
And personally? My husband, Michael, and I just celebrated our seven year anniversary and are raising two young children who continue to challenge and amaze us every day. At ages five and three, they keep us on our toes! Just when we think we have a parenting skill mastered, they change the game on us. We are ridiculously proud of them.
Is there anything else you want our readers to know? Get involved! Even if you do nothing more than attend some of the events, you will be raising money and awareness for AVLF. The Wine Tasting was so fun and beautifully done, and I’m greatly looking forward to the PurSHOEing Justice event on February 8th next year at King & Spalding. This event raises awareness of domestic violence in the Atlanta area and specifically benefits the AVLF’s Safe Families Office. You can raise money while sipping a cocktail, eating good food and looking at beautiful shoes – it’s a win-win!
Standing with Our Neighbors Law Firms
Thanks to these law firms who have committed to Standing with Our Neighbors:
Meet the Staff: Standing with Our Neighbors
Ayanna Jones-Lightsy
Staff Attorney, Standing with Our Neighbors Program
Ayanna focuses on housing issues in the Thomasville Heights neighborhood of Atlanta. She obtained her B.A. in history from Clark Atlanta University, then worked in the field of education for the next four years. She attended Emory Law School and upon graduating worked for Georgia Legal Services Program for seven years. As a legal services attorney, Ayanna worked closely with the low-income population of North Georgia to address issues such as unemployment, public benefits, subsidized housing, domestic violence, and elder care.
Christal Reynolds
Community Advocate, Standing with Our Neighbors Program
Christal embraces the saying “Be the change you wish to see in the world.” She is the Community Advocate for the Standing With Our Neighbors Initiative based in the Thomasville Heights Community in Atlanta. Prior to this role, Christal served as the Strategies Manager with Communities In Schools of Georgia, a dropout prevention organization. She received a B.A. degree in International Studies from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and obtained a Master of Public Administration degree from Baruch College in New York City through National Urban Fellows.
What drew you to this job at Atlanta Volunteer Lawyers Foundation?
Ayanna: This position sits at the intersection of so many of my interests. I grew up in low-income housing in New York and I believe that decent housing is a fundamental right of all human beings. I’m not sure that we do such a great job of ensuring that decent affordable housing is available, and I wanted to be on the front lines. In my former life, pre-law school, I was a teacher and I remember seeing how many of my families struggled with just obtaining stable and decent housing throughout the year.
Christal: The intersection of housing and education was the carrot. I believed helping families in one area could positively impact the other. The community outreach aspect was intriguing since the project is place-based. I worked a great deal with secondary school students and families in previous positions and had a desire to serve the public in a different manner.
What has been your favorite experience so far?
Ayanna: There have been so many but if I have to choose one it is probably the day that I walked into the leasing office to assist a client who had been trying for several weeks to recertify her lease but was met with great resistance. We walked out of the leasing office about an hour later with her new lease in hand and a utility check that had been withheld from her. She was so excited! On that day I was reminded that the presence of a lawyer can make such a difference.
Christal: There are many. I’m enjoying meeting residents, hearing their stories, and being part of a team that acts quickly and effectively. Also, learning about housing law and interfacing with attorneys keeps me on my toes. Lastly, corresponding with school staff and community members is broadening my perspective.
What has surprised you the most?
Ayanna: I am most surprised at the way the children in the school are so open and so very joyful. I get greeted everyday by new faces.
Christal: The word about our services is spreading quickly. We have received calls and referrals for residents that have spoken to neighbors and were referred to us. And when we’re in the neighborhood, the residents are open to hear about our focus and they express concerns on the spot.
What are you most excited about this school year?
Ayanna: I am most excited about assisting as many as I can and to helping them improve their basic living conditions so that they can enjoy the experience of decent affordable housing.
Christal: My hope is that our work in the community influences schools in Atlanta and beyond to adopt this model to keep families in their homes. I can’t wait to learn of the results of our work in the first year of service.
7 Things to Know about Standing with Our Neighbors
1. A housing lawyer can make a real difference in improving a child’s school attendance and performance.
Studies show that having to move unexpectedly and involuntarily during a school year (for instance, due to an eviction or intolerable conditions) wreaks havoc on a child’s ability to succeed in school, even to the point of significantly bringing down graduation rates. Studies also link poor housing conditions – including the persistent presence of cockroaches, pesticides, and mold that can contribute significantly to the incidence of pediatric asthma – to increased absenteeism. And even for the child who makes it to school, he will often struggle if he has been up all night from an asthma attack or bed bugs or worrying about the eviction notice his mom received.
Even more directly, particularly in lower income communities, a significant reason families move out of the school zone year-to-year is that same housing instability (i.e., evictions or intolerable conditions). A tenant’s ability to stand up for healthy rental conditions or to stop an underserved eviction is dramatically strengthened by representation from a lawyer trained in landlord-tenant law. That is precisely what Atlanta Volunteer Lawyers Foundation provides: direct representation of low-income tenants struggling with landlord-tenant disputes.
2. We hired a full-time staff attorney and community advocate to promote our services to as many families as possible.
A hallmark of this initiative is more active outreach. We are working to make sure as many families as possible know about their rights and the availability of our services. To that end, AVLF is deploying multiple active outreach strategies, all lead by a full-time community advocate who coordinates closely with the elementary school staff.
We regularly promote our services within the school through flyers sent home to parents, announcements at school functions, posters, and other means. We educate relevant school staff about tenants’ rights and our services so that they may pass the information along. We maintain close relationships with and get direct referrals from school nurses, social workers, and teachers. Our Thomasville-dedicated staff has a regular presence and maintains office hours within the school and at other Thomasville locations.
Our staff also regularly attends community events to speak and disseminate information about our services. We conduct AVLF-sponsored know-your-rights talks and AVLF-sponsored pop up legal clinics at different locations within Thomasville, where more in-depth intakes and initial meetings with attorneys can occur.
Finally, our staff canvasses neighborhoods or blocks where our services may be needed and our staff and volunteers also make house calls for families with barriers to coming in for an intake.
3. This is the first time we’re focusing our work in a specific neighborhood and on a specific problem.
While AVLF is already the largest provider of tenant representation in the city, we have never before focused our services on a specific neighborhood (in this case, Thomasville) and on a specific problem (housing instability that is driving absenteeism and enrollment turnover). While we have worked hard to make our four-decade-old weekend legal clinic at Peachtree Center more accessible by providing MARTA assistance or validated parking to our clients, for example, we have never embedded our staff and our clinics in a neighborhood in this way before.
While we have always made outreach a priority, holding know-your-rights talks at public libraries and other locations, we have never dedicated a team of staff and volunteers to full-time active outreach in this way.
Finally, while we have always paid close attention to the impact of our services, tracking the outcomes of our cases and the benefits obtained by our clients, we have never measured the greater impact our services can have on related community challenges, as we are in measuring reduced enrollment turnover and absenteeism at Thomasville Heights Elementary.
4. Eight leading Atlanta law firms have committed to representing tenants.
Thanks to our trained volunteer attorneys from the eight leading law firms who have committed to this initiative, tenants in need don’t get just information or advice, they have an attorney assigned to their cases to stand with them, negotiate, and – as needed – litigate to enforce their rights. Clients of AVLF are represented by an attorney, free of charge, just as any paying client would be represented.
5. The holistic services we’re offering to clients include legal advocacy and representation, community education, and follow-up with families.
The focus of our services is legal advocacy and representation. AVLF’s legal advocacy in Thomasville Heights aims to halt evictions and resolve underlying issues – including heading off evictions before they are filed – force remediation of deplorable conditions, secure release for clients from dishonored leases, and/or secure compensation for lost property and other damages.
When a landlord is preventing basic steps to improve conditions or is unwilling to make necessary repairs, AVLF’s staff and volunteer attorneys offer legal advocacy ranging from cooperatively working with landlords, to litigation to ensure the family is living in safe and healthy conditions. Legal services are accessed through AVLF’s existing programs and pop-up clinics conducted in or near the Zone. As needed, AVLF will also draw on its expertise holding accountable repeat offender landlords through our innovative Dollars for Judgments Program which assigns expert collection attorneys to collect on judgments obtained against landlords who do not comply with the law and court orders.
Funding for the initiative includes dedicated funding from Kaiser Permanente for critical mold testing services. This includes expert analysis, consultation for volunteer attorneys and, as needed, expert testimony in resulting litigation. Thanks to support from Kaiser Permanente the Home Depot Foundation, AVLF clients also have access to free quality air filters, dehumidifiers, home “clean kits,” pest-control kits, CO detectors and other products related to healthy housing, on a case-by-case basis.
The initiative’s services include a significant community education component. AVLF’s Community Advocate works with community partners to educate families on how to promote effective repairs and avoid evictions, the right to safe and habitable housing, addressing issues such as indoor air quality, and the resources available to address those issues. This work includes a partnership with the Fulton Asthma Improvement & Reduction (FAIR) Coalition, supported by the Fulton County Department of Health and Wellness, which contributes a wealth of expertise and education materials focused on improving housing conditions that exacerbate asthma. Their public health educational materials are integrated into AVLF’s community education work. AVLF also conducts monthly know-your-rights talks focused on avoiding and addressing common landlord tenant issues.
Finally, our services include real follow-up with families. AVLF’s Community Advocate works closely with families on the goal of keeping the family within Thomasville Heights Elementary School’s attendance zone and ensuring safe and healthy living conditions. If a family must relocate, the Advocate works to help the family avoid another bad situation. Whether a family relocates as a result of the advocacy or obtains repairs and remains, AVLF follows up to measure improved health and educational outcomes and check in with families to help avoid future instability.
6. This initiative is truly a team effort.
In addition to our project partner, Purpose Built Schools, eight of Atlanta’s leading law firms have joined the cause, dedicating themselves to standing with these neighborhoods as they stand to demand stability and better conditions. AVLF’s partner firms for this innovative initiative are Alston & Bird, Arnall Golden Gregory, Jones Day, Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton, King & Spalding, Nelson Mullins, Sutherland Asbill & Brennan, and Troutman Sanders.
This work includes a partnership with the Fulton Asthma Improvement & Reduction (FAIR) Coalition, supported by the Fulton County Department of Health and Wellness, which contributes a wealth of expertise and education materials focused on improving housing conditions that exacerbate asthma.
AVLF’s partnership with the Atlanta Legal Aid Society (ALAS) goes back to AVLF’s creation, and it continues into Standing with Our Neighbors. ALAS housing attorneys will assist with training of AVLF staff and volunteers, send and accept referrals of clients who need legal services, and coordinate with AVLF’s Thomasville Heights team on legal approaches to stability housing in that community.
FCS Ministries, which operates the Carver Community Market and the Community Grounds coffee shop in nearby Historic South Atlanta, has welcomed AVLF staff and volunteers to use their space for meetings. City of Atlanta officials have also pledged support of AVLF’s use of the Thomasville Heights Branch Library and the Thomasville Recreation Center for events and meetings as well.
Finally, it is through the generous support of the Cousins Family Foundation, Kaiser Permanente, and The Home Depot Foundation, that AVLF is able to expand and focus its services in Thomasville Heights in this comprehensive manner.
7. While Thomasville Heights is the first community where we offer these services, it won’t be the last.
Thanks to the generous support of the Cousins Family Foundation, Kaiser Permanente, and the Home Depot Foundation, the Thomasville Heights initiative is fully funded and launched for the 2016-2017 school year, with a new AVLF Staff Attorney and AVLF Community Advocate embedded in the community and working with seven of the initiative’s partner firms to help stabilize housing around one school – Thomasville Heights Elementary School – that is struggling with a 40% annual enrollment turnover rate.
Looking forward, with generous support from the Annie E. Casey Civic Site, the Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta, the Raoul Foundation, Kaiser Permanente, and the Home Depot Foundation, this initiative will soon expand into the neighborhoods of Neighborhood Planning Unit V, or NPU-V (e.g., Pittsburgh, Mechanicsville, Adair Park, Peoplestown, Summerhill).
AVLF’s expert advance team – the law firm of Alston & Bird – is piloting AVLF’s expansion into these neighborhoods. Basing our efforts out of Dunbar Elementary School, which Alston & Bird has been generously supporting for years, we are laying the foundation for this expansion for the 2017-2018 school year. At full launch, additional law firm partners will join the effort to stabilize rental housing in those historic Atlanta neighborhoods.
In addition to these neighborhoods, AVLF hopes to expand this model in the future and be an ally to other neighborhoods and movements to improve our community.