Equal Justice Works has continually expanded and evolved our AmeriCorps-funded programs to meet national needs at the local level. In the 2011/2012 service year, 81 Equal Justice Works AmeriCorps Legal Fellows and 695 law students serving as Summer Corps members exceeded almost every performance measure in each of our focused legal issue areas and served a total of 72,499 clients.
Equal Justice Works has continually expanded and evolved our AmeriCorps-funded programs to meet national needs at the local level. In the 2011/2012 service year, 81 Equal Justice Works AmeriCorps Legal Fellows and 695 law students serving as Summer Corps members exceeded almost every performance measure in each of our focused legal issue areas and served a total of 72,499 clients.
Helping Homeless Veterans
The crisis of homeless veterans is growing, with veterans making up more than 26% of the current homeless population and an estimated 500,000 additional veterans at risk of becoming homeless. During the 2011/2012 service year, 10 AmeriCorps Legal Fellows assisted 415 veterans in obtaining Veterans Affairs (V.A.) benefits; won 24 cases on behalf of veterans and obtained $422,130 in back benefits; assisted 940 veterans overcome legal barriers to housing and helped 104 veterans obtain housing. Watch this video to learn more. [6]
Disaster Response
In response to the BP oil spill disaster and the devastating tornado that struck Joplin, Missouri, Equal Justice Works deployed AmeriCorps Legal Fellows to help survivors recover their livelihoods and overcome the many legal obstacles facing these residents. In the 2011/2012 service year, members represented 1,488 disaster victims with their legal issues.
Equal Justice Works remains poised to act and deploy attorneys whenever and wherever disaster strikes. In December 2012 and January 2013, three Equal Justice Works AmeriCorps Legal Fellows were deployed to help victims of Hurricane Sandy. Read more here. [7]
Foreclosure Defense
When the mortgage foreclosure crisis hit in 2009, Equal Justice Works received funding to place 30 AmeriCorps Legal Fellows across the country to provide legal assistance to those facing financial challenges due to the recession. Watch this video to learn more. [8] In the 2011/2012 service year, we continued to have 10 AmeriCorps Fellows in the field working on foreclosure issues in some of the states hardest hit by this economic crisis. During this time, 365 homes were saved from foreclosure.