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COALITION FOR THE HOMELESS AND FLORIDA A&M UNIVERSITY LAW SCHOOL PARTNER TO PROVIDE UNIQUE LEGAL SERVICES
(Law students provide free legal assistance to Coalition residents as part of student law clinic, following a successful set of first semester outcomes.)
ORLANDO, Fla. — (March 16, 2006) — Coalition for the Homeless of Central Florida and Florida A&M University (FAMU) College of Law students are partnering for a second time, providing free legal services for men, women, and children who are homeless.
Students with the FAMU Homelessness Clinic, under the supervision of acting clinical director Jacqueline Dowd, provide legal assistance to Coalition residents on issues ranging from benefits to family law, consumer law, employment law, and the criminalization of homelessness.
“Many of our clients are dealing with very small legal problems that prevent them from taking the next step on the road to self-sufficiency,” notes David Birmingham, Coalition for the Homeless CEO. “This service provided through FAMU law school removes those barriers for homeless men, women, and children.”
The successful partnership originally began in fall 2005. By the close of the first semester, FAMU law students handled 56 cases and helped a total 126 people living at the Coalition. Success stories include securing Social Security disability benefits, drawing up a will for a client with forth-stage breast cancer, and the resolution of legal issues relating to bankruptcy.
Students provide counsel and advice as well as full representation, negotiating on their client’s behalf with debt collectors, employers, and government agencies. In Florida second and third year law students can provide legal services under the supervision of an attorney.
“Each student that comes through FAMU law school participates in a volunteer clinical program,” adds Dowd. “We find incorporating service into the curriculum creates a one-of-a-kind experience in school, and a lasting effect on the community we serve.”
The clinic is primarily staffed with students in the law schools part-time evening program who are working professionals. The pairing works well because the law students are available for evening consultations, when the Coalitions’ clients, most of who work or attend school during the day, are available.
The Homelessness clinic at the FAMU College of Law won approval from the Florida Supreme Court during the fall 2005 semester and is a recognized legal aid organization.
About Coalition for the Homeless
Coalition for the Homeless is the largest provider of homeless services in Central Florida. This non-profit organization works to address the needs of the homeless in the community and serves as a catalyst for community collaboration to end homelessness by offering comprehensive case management programs to help the homeless become self-sufficient. In the most recent fiscal year, the Coalition served more than 360,000 meals and provided over 240,000 nights of shelter to homeless individuals.
One in four people the Coalition serves is a child, with an average age of eight.
About the FAMU College of Law
The FAMU College of Law in Orlando is an off-site campus of Florida A&M University in Tallahassee. Florida A&M University is a historically Black university and is part of the State University System of Florida. The university was established in 1887. The College of Law was originally established in 1949 and operated until 1968. It was reopened in Orlando in 2002 and the first class graduated in 2005. The FAMU College of Law is provisionally accredited by the American Bar Association.
The College of Law currently operates ten legal clinics in addition to the Homelessness and Legal Advocacy Clinic, including: Housing Clinic, Community Economic Development Clinic, Child Representation Clinic and a Mediation Clinic. A FAMU College of Law faculty member supervises each clinic.
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