ASHLEIGH STARNES | July 31, 2018
In order to best serve our city, Atlanta Volunteer Lawyers Foundation works with many community partners to make sure the clients get the help they need.
Here are a few of our community partners.
Partnership Against Domestic Violence (PADV)
You may know that AVLF partners with Partnership Against Domestic Violence in the Safe Families Office to serve the legal and social needs of survivors of domestic violence. But did you know that AVLF and PADV partner together beyond assisting clients seeking TPOs?
When AVLF identifies a survivor who is having trouble maintaining housing or moving into a new residence to escape abuse, they partner with PADV, who helps provide emergency financial support for survivors in need of housing.
“PADV’s housing assistance staff are quick to respond and dedicated to meeting our clients’ needs,” says Safe and Stable Families Director Jamie Perez. “They go above and beyond – if you ask them to expedite something, they will, and they work hard to get the answer and/or services the client needs.”
Georgia Heirs Property Law Center
When AVLF community advocates meet neighborhood residents who are not renters but rather live in inherited property with a fractured title, we refer them to the Georgia Heirs Property Law Center for help clearing their title.
Most homeowners don’t realize that there is an organization that exists to help them with this problem – and they may not even realize they have a problem!
Georgia Heirs Property Law Center helps clients transfer wealth to the next generation through title clearing, estate planning, and other services. The Georgia Heirs Property Law Center also helps AVLF with occasional title questions that come up for our clients. Between our assistance to renters and the Heirs Property Law Center’s assistance to homeowners, there is legal help for Atlantans with all kinds of property issues.
Helping Mamas
Helping Mamas provides extraordinary service and meets a tangible need. They offer baby supplies for our Safe Families Office clients, and allow survivors to continue to make requests as long as supplies are needed.
Helping Mamas has a really accessible online portal for requests for clients, and they pay attention to detail. If someone states they have a 0-6 month old, but requests clothing for a 12 month old, they reach out to clarify which is an incredibly helpful aspect of their service.
They are staffed in large part by volunteers, and it’s a testament to the quality of their organization that each and every one of their volunteers is courteous, helpful, and friendly to our staff and clients.
CHRIS180
AVLF believes that holistic services – services that cover all aspects of wellness – are essential to serving our clients needs. AVLF’s programs focus specifically on legal services related to housing and domestic violence, but community partners like CHRIS180 are able to provide comprehensive services to our clients beyond the courtroom.
CHRIS180 refers clients who have legal needs related to domestic violence or housing issues to AVLF. In turn, AVLF identifies clients who could benefit from counseling, therapy, and other services provided by CHRIS 180.
CHRIS180 offers their space to meet with domestic violence clients and quickly responds to our referrals for counseling services. CHRIS180 was open and enthusiastic about partnering to better serve survivors of domestic violence by meeting both their social and legal needs.
Read more about AVLF’s community involvement.
Ashleigh Starnes
Communications Associate
As AVLF’s Communications Associate, Ashleigh helps Lauren Frazier with website content development, social media outreach, and various other forms of communication with our fiercely compassionate supporters. Ashleigh is ever-eager to share the remarkable stories of our clients, and the impact of AVLF’s staff and volunteers on our community.
Before joining AVLF, Ashleigh was a Fulbright Scholar in Turkey. She holds a BA in English and Linguistics from the University of Georgia. She is also a performance artist, and can occasionally be seen performing movement pieces, poetry, and combinations of the two around Atlanta and beyond.
Check out more from this author.
