Headshot of Matthew Flood

Matthew Flood

  • Hosted by West Tennessee Legal Services
  • Sponsored by Disaster Resilience Program
  • Service location Jackson, Tennessee
  • Law school University of Arkansas at Little Rock William H. Bowen School of Law
  • Issue area Disaster Recovery, Disaster Response and Preparedness
  • Fellowship class year 2022
  • Program Disaster Resilience Program

The Project

Matthew Flood’s (he/him/his) project with West Tennessee Legal Services seeks to address the unmet legal needs of people who were negatively impacted by the December 2021 tornados and help those communities become more resilient to future natural disasters.

His Fellowship at West Tennessee Legal Services seeks to help low-income individuals with unmet legal needs caused by the December 2021 tornados and create solutions to legal needs that would arise in a future natural disaster. Matthew plans to provide legal aid for conservatorships, power of attorney, estate planning, and more. Along with legal work, Matthew hopes to foster greater cooperation with similarly oriented organizations and provide information on fostering disaster resilience directly to vulnerable populations.

In law school, Matthew developed a passion for bridging the gap between rural populations and access to justice. He credits his parents for including him in their charity work from an early age and from the time spent with his grandparents in rural Indiana, as these were motivators and sources of inspiration for his work.

Fellowship Plans

To achieve this goal, Matthew focuses on legal requests that West Tennessee Legal Services has the most difficulty fulfilling. These often include conservatorships in Lake, Obion, and Weakly County. Additionally, Matthew will meet directly with organizations that provide disaster related or general services to vulnerable populations. He will also provide educational presentations at senior centers, libraries, and other public and civic organizations.

My love for the outdoors has brought me to many rural areas, small towns, and old communities. I have met people in all of them with unrivaled kindness, generosity, and passion for life.

Matthew Flood /
2022 Disaster Resilience Program Fellow

Headshot of Nick Gau

Nick Gau

Host: Tennessee Alliance for Legal Services

Sponsor: Disaster Resilience Program

Current Fellow

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Robert Flores

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Sponsor: Disaster Resilience Program

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Latasha Cooper

Host: Community Legal Services of Mid-Florida, Inc.

Sponsor: Disaster Resilience Program

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Hannah Dyal

Host: Texas RioGrande Legal Aid, Inc.

Sponsor: Disaster Resilience Program