Part of what makes Standing with Our Neighbors so different from other legal services programs is our focus on community outreach.
Outreach is a vital part of Standing with Our Neighbors, designed to deepen impact and facilitate trust in the communities we work with. We are committed to being part of these communities every day, not just the days problems arise. We actively work to stop housing instability before it surfaces through rights education.
Since the program began in September 2016, Atlanta Volunteer Lawyers Foundation has organized or attended 48 community outreach events specifically to educate Atlanta residents about their rights and our programs. For these events, AVLF staff members visited schools, libraries, community centers, and senior living facilities to bring this vital information to residents. In the Thomasville Heights neighborhood alone – the community where we piloted the first year of the program – we educated 451 residents about their rights as tenants during the 2016-2017 school year.
One of our outreach events, Turn Up & Turn Out, is designed for the entire family to learn from and enjoy. In addition to hosting a know-your-rights clinic, AVLF brings in partner organizations who are able to educate residents about other topics, such as health, wellness, and education. While parents learn, we entertain their kids, and then we provide lunch for the whole family.
Staff attorney Ayanna Jones-Lightsy with law student volunteer Kameisha Binns. Kameisha is currently a student at Atlanta's John Marshall Law School.
The AVLF team tabling at Hollis Innovation Academy on Atlanta's west side. Standing With Our Neighbors staff attorney Lauren Washington is joined by our Development Director and Executive Director. This outreach was part of their job and resource fair aimed at parents.
Staff Attorney Ayanna Jones-Lightsy leads a know-your-rights workshop at Thomasville Heights Elementary School. This particular clinic took place as part of our February Turn Up & Turn Out Event.
Dionne Hines Morse, Pro Bono Manager at Kilpatrick Stockton, spoke at Barack and Michelle Obama Academy's 2017 Grandparents Day. She was asked to speak about her experience being raised by grandparents. After her speech, Dionne personally delivered goodie bags that members of the firm had prepared for each teacher and professional staff person.
Kilpatrick Stockton is one of Standing With Our Neighbors founding partner firms.
2017 Grandparents Day at Barack and Michelle Obama Academy. Dionne Hines Morse, Pro Bono Manager at Kilpatrick Stockton, spoke at the event about her experience being raised by grandparents. After her speech, Dionne personally delivered goodie bags that members of the firm had prepared for each teacher and professional staff person.
Kilpatrick Stockton is one of Standing With Our Neighbors founding partner firms.
Staff attorneys Lauren Washington and Ayanna Jones-Lightsy educate Thomasville Heights residents about their rights as tenants. This workshop was part of the August Turn Up & Turn Out event at Thomasvillle Heights Elementary School.
Community Advocate Christal Reynolds with Johnette Brown of Urban League of Greater Atlanta. Johnette Brown spoke to Thomasville Heights residents as part of the September Turn Up & Turn Out at Thomasville Heights Elementary School.
Community Advocate Christal Reynolds goes door to door talking with residents of the Forest Cove Apartment Complex in Thomasville Heights. The majority of students at Thomasville Heights Elementary live in these apartments.
AVLF Executive Director Marty Ellin gets ready to feed students and parents at the August Turn Up & Turn Out event. He’s joined by star volunteer and Thomasville Heights Elementary School parent JoeAnn Mathis.
A Thomasville Heights Elementary student gets a hands-on demonstration from the Atlanta Fire Department at April's Turn Up & Turn Out event.
Thomasville Heights Elementary School students pose for a photo to say thank you to our partner law firms for sponsoring their 2016 Fall Festival.
AVLF staff and volunteers pose with Thomasville Heights Elementary's third grade class on "Love Day."
Love Day is a day focused on loving your neighborhood and giving back. It takes place every year on February 14, shifting the focus of Valentines Day from romantic love to self- and community-focused love. This year, staff and volunteers participated in a community clean-up led by the third grade class.
As part of "Love Day," AVLF staff and volunteers partnered with Thomasville Heights Elementary's third grade class to clean-up the neighborhood. Love Day is a day focused on loving your neighborhood and giving back. It takes place every year on February 14, shifting the focus of Valentines Day from romantic love to self- and community-focused love.
As part of "Love Day," AVLF staff and volunteers partnered with Thomasville Heights Elementary's third grade class to clean-up the neighborhood. Love Day is a day focused on loving your neighborhood and giving back. It takes place every year on February 14, shifting the focus of Valentines Day from romantic love to self- and community-focused love.
A third grader at Thomasville Heights Elementary poses excitedly while picking up trash as part of this year's "Love Day."
Love Day is a day focused on loving your neighborhood and giving back. It takes place every year on February 14, shifting the focus of Valentines Day from romantic love to self- and community-focused love. This year, staff and volunteers participated in a community clean-up led by the third grade class.
Students excitedly gather-round at the 2016 Thomasville Heights Elementary School Fall Festival. AVLF's partner law firms sponsored the event and provided numerous volunteers.
Thomasville Heights Elementary School students gather around a demonstration from the Atlanta Fire Department at the April Turn Up & Turn Out event.
Thomasville Heights Elementary School students play four-square while their parents learn about their rights as tenants. Creating a space for both parents and children to learn and enjoy themselves is an integral part of every Turn Up & Turn Out event.
A thank you note written by a Dunbar Elementary School student to AVLF staff and volunteers . AVLF staff member Cole Thaler was presented this note at an appreciation luncheon Dunbar staff held for AVLF.
Community volunteers and Thomasville Heights Elementary parents at the April Turn Up & Turn Out event. Pictured are active volunteer and community gardener JoeAnn Mathis (left) and Forest Cove resident and school crossing guard Felicia Morris (right).
Thomasville Heights residents gather at the April Turn Up & Turn Out event to learn about their rights as tenants and the resources available in their neighborhood. These conversations are a lynchpin of the monthly events held at Thomasville Heights Elementary School.
Representatives from Playworks give out goodies at the April Turn Up & Turn Out event. Playworks is an organization that helps kids to stay active and build valuable social and emotional skills through play. They have partnered with AVLF at multiple events at Thomasville Heights Elementary School.
Andrew Ellis, a volunteer from Jones Day, paints faces at the 2016 Thomasville Heights Elementary School fall festival. AVLF's nine partner law firms all sponsored the event. Jones Day is one of Standing With Our Neighbors' founding partner law firms.
Thomasville Heights Elementary School students dance and play at their 2016 fall festival.
Staff attorney Ayanna Jones-Lightsy paints faces at Thomasville Heights Elementary School's 2016 fall festival.
Community Advocate Christal Reynolds watches over children at play at the 2016 Thomasville Heights Elementary School fall festival. Her shirt bares AVLF's logo and ethos: "The best legal representation money can't buy."
Vanessa Vogel, a volunteer from Jones Day, paints faces at the 2016 Thomasville Heights Elementary School fall festival. AVLF's nine partner law firms all sponsored the event. Jones Day is one of Standing With Our Neighbors' founding partner law firms.
AVLF staff's children often join their parents at different community events. Pictured here, Deputy Director Michael Lucas's daughters help fold tenant's rights pamphlets at January's Turn Up & Turn Out event before going to play with the other children.
Students color inside a classroom on a rainy Saturday at Thomasville Heights Elementary School. While there are usually outdoor activities scheduled as part of AVLF's Turn Up & Turn Out events, there is always a back-up plan.
A meal is always provided as part of AVLF's Turn Up & Turn Out events. This is part of our ethos that these gatherings should provide emotional and physical nourishment for the whole family.
Volunteer attorneys from different law firms play with children at the 2016 Thomasville Heights Elementary School fall festival. Included in the photo is Kilpatrick Stockton's Pro Bono Manager Dionne Hines Morse.
Thomasville Heights Elementary School students participate in a "Boo Bowling Battle" as part of their 2016 fall festival. All of Standing With Our Neighbors nine partner firms sponsored the event.
Staff Attorney Ayanna Jones-Lightsy assists Thomasville Heights residents at the January Turn Up & Turn Out event.
Staff attorney Ayanna Jones-Lightsy and Community Advocate Christal Reynolds assist Thomasville Heights residents at the January Turn Up & Turn Out event.
Community Advocate Christal Reynolds assists Thomasville Heights residents at the January Turn Up & Turn Out event.
Brea Croteau, a volunteer from Troutman Sanders, plays with a tiny Thomasville Heights residents at the January Turn Up & Turn Out event. Troutman Sanders is one of Standing With Our Neighbors' founding partner law firms.
The love wall at Thomasville Heights Elementary School is a place where students can share their feelings and things they care about through artistic expression.
The love wall at Thomasville Heights Elementary School is a place where students can share their feelings and things they care about through artistic expression.
Brea Croteau, a volunteer from Troutman Sanders, plays with a tiny Thomasville Heights residents at the January Turn Up & Turn Out event. Troutman Sanders is one of Standing With Our Neighbors' founding partner law firms.
Community Advocate Kesha Whitaker entertains students at Thomasville Heights Elementary School.
Community residents always leave AVLF events with a bag full of goodies, including information about how they can contact AVLF and information about their rights as tenants.
Deputy Director Michael Lucas tables at a back-to-school event at Hollis Innovation Academy. It's important to AVLF to be present to at every school function so that parents know our staff is always a resource for them.
Volunteers from partner organizations are part of what make our Turn Up & Turn Out events so impactful and important. Pictured here is Will Sellers from Food Well Alliance as well as two volunteers from Playworks.
