Safety. And Stability.
If there is a way to condense what the Atlanta Volunteer Lawyers Foundation means to those in our community who depend on AVLF for access to a lawyer, it might be those two words.
I offer these words not to add my voice to the swell of candidates’ screams about how we make our nation more secure. But I do urge that while the larger questions play out, there is much that we, the staff of AVLF, and you, the volunteers, donors, and supporters of the Foundation have done and can do, every day, to enhance the places we live, which in turn makes us a more just and more peaceful society.
For AVLF clients, safety comes in the form of a Protective Order or a court’s directive to a landlord that severe mold be remediated. Stability is promoted when a widow is counseled after her husband’s death or when an employee collects unpaid wages. Tenants in a home feel safer after the massive hole in the roof is fixed, and families are stabilized when helped out of the cycle of domestic violence. No matter which of the many ways our clients are supported, at AVLF we believe that focusing on bringing small pieces of justice to families thousands of times each year is deeply meaningful and promotes the safety and stability of our entire community.
In every one of AVLF’s pro bono programs, low-income clients receive free, high quality legal service that they could not otherwise access, and as a consequence, their lives and the lives of their children are safer and more stable. And through every one of these programs you support with your volunteer work or your financial gift, your community is better balanced, more just, and more secure.
Thank you for all that your work has meant to AVLF and the clients we served in 2015. We look forward to a 2016 filled with the energy of all that is possible when a community coalesces around the idea that everyone – everyone – deserves equal access to justice. The happiest of holidays!
