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$400 Million Available to Assist Houston Homeowners Recovering from Harvey

Houston, TX – $400 million dollars of HUD funding is available to help Houston homeowners that are still recovering from Hurricane Harvey. The help is available through the City of Houston’s Homeowner Assistance Program (HAP). WHAT IS HAP? HAP helps homeowners affected by Hurricane Harvey repair and rebuild their homes. The housing program is administered by the GLO and provides […]

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Misleading Scams and Fraudulent Acts: Targeting Veterans and their Families

Nearly 80 percent of veterans are targeted by misleading scams such as military charities, veteran loans, online exploitation and other suspicious scams. Scammers prey on the goodwill and patriotism of veterans to lure them into risky situations. Fraudulent charities use the same techniques as trusted charities by writing letters, making phone calls, sending emails and texts, and even using similar […]

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July is Military Consumer Protection Month

The Federal Trade Commission partners with local, state, and federal agencies every July to promote awareness into the consumer issues faced by service-members. Service-members, like all consumers, are potential targets for fraudsters. Some scams are more likely to target military families because they may relocate frequently. The FTC strives to eliminate such scams through enforcement and education. This year, Lone […]

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Lone Star Legal Aid Awarded Bob Woodruff Foundation Veterans Disaster Grant

Houston, Texas – Lone Star Legal Aid is one of nine organizations that serve post 9/11 veterans, service members, and their families chosen by the Bob Woodruff Foundation (BWF) for its spring grants. BWF’s key focus areas are education and employment, quality of life, and rehabilitation and recovery. BWF was particularly interested in how post-disaster challenges tie in with veteran […]

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Lone Star Legal Aid’s Disaster Relief Team Co-hosted Deed & Title Clinic with AARP Houston

Lone Star Legal Aid’s Disaster Relief Team co-hosted a Deed and Title Clinic with AARP Houston on Wednesday, June 12, 2019. The purpose of the clinic was to educate the community on what it means to legally own their homes and allow community members the opportunity to speak to lawyers for free help to resolve lingering legal issues with titles […]

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Air Alliance Houston (AAH) Launches Health Impact Assessment (HIA) Report on TxDOT’s North Houston Highway Improvement Project (NHHIP)

On Thursday, June 13th, LSLA community partner Air Alliance Houston held a press conference announcing a report on a Health Impact Assessment (HIA) that considers the wide-ranging health impacts of Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT)’s proposed I-45 expansion project, also known as the North Houston Highway Improvement Project (NHHIP), on communities along the I-45 N corridor. Pointing to the inequitable […]

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Lone Star Legal Aid’s Disaster Relief Unit & Environmental Justice Team Presenting at Port Arthur Town Hall

Jefferson County, TX – The Coalition for Environment, Equity, & Resilience, Texas Appleseed, and Port Arthur Community Action Network are hosting a town hall in regards to disaster recovery on June 15th from 11:30am-4pm at Carl A. Parker Multipurpose Center in Port Arthur. Free lunch, childcare, language translation, and translated print materials will be provided to all attendees. The event […]

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TxDOT’S Historical Resources Report Omits Houston’s Independence Heights

Houston, TX – For more than 14 years, Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) has been planning the North Houston Highway Improvement Project (NHHIP), a massive expansion of Interstate 45 that will completely reshape freeway transit around downtown Houston, with major changes to I-45, I-69, I-10 and Hwy 288 over the next decade. The proposed expansion of I-45 north of downtown […]

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Rent-to-Own vs. Contract for Deed

Most home buyers have to have a mortgage to finance a home, however, there are alternatives: contracts for deed and rent-to-own agreements. Under a Contract for Deed, the buyer makes regular payments to the seller until the amount owed is paid in full or the buyer finds another means to pay off the balance. The seller retains legal title to […]

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U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service to Provide Free Summer Meals

The Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) is a federally-funded, state-administered program. SFSP reimburses program operators who serve free healthy meals and snacks to children and teens in low-income areas. Nutritious free meals are available for those that qualify at many locations throughout the nation throughout the summer while school is out of session. Use the mapping tool here to find […]

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June is National Homeownership Month

June is National Homeownership Month, a time to celebrate, promote, and reflect on the American Dream – owning your own home. Homeownership provides social and financial stability, builds communities, and helps improve the national economy. While most Americans dream of owning a home, obstacles such as student loans, credit card debt, poor credit, interest rates, and the ever-fluctuating job market […]

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Life After Trauma

Overview A traumatic experience can affect a person’s entire life making them vulnerable to ongoing fear.  Fear is a result of a negative outcome in which horrifying memories are engraved on the brain causing people to have terrorizing flashbacks and uncontrolled panic attacks. Trauma is real and it affects people to where they behave and respond differently. Crime victim survivors […]

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A True Story Behind Domestic Violence

Domestic violence or abuse in a relationship is a pattern of behaviors used to maintain power and control over their partner. This behavior can physically cause harm or arouse fear by the use of physical and sexual violence, threats, intimidation and emotional abuse. Anyone of any race, age, religion, gender or sexual orientation can become a victim or perpetrator. It […]

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Financial Exploitation is the Most Common Form of Elder Abuse

While emotional abuse, physical abuse, neglect and abandonment are frequently used forms of elder abuse, financial exploitation is the most common and fastest growing form of elder abuse. Anyone can take advantage of the elderly whether they are a caretaker, a family member, neighbors, attorneys, bank employees, doctors, or nurses. The mistreatment of vulnerable adults is widespread and can even […]

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HPD Victim Services Unit Cross Training: Justice for Crime Survivors

HOUSTON, TX – Lone Star Legal Aid’s Crime Victims Unit attorney Zelda Howell and social worker Ashleigh Cormier hosted the Justice for Crime Survivors presentation on Thursday, May 23, 2019 at the downtown Houston Police Department (HPD). The presentation covered specific methods to approach and handle cases dealing with survivors of crime. After victimization, the individual will face many challenges. […]

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Fighting for Clean Air, Port Arthur Community Action Network (PA-CAN) Announces Intent to Sue Valero Port Arthur

Port Arthur, TX – Alleging over 1.8 million pounds of unauthorized air pollution were released over the past 5 years by Valero’s Port Arthur Refinery, the community group and Lone Star Legal Aid client, Port Arthur Community Action Network (PA-CAN), announced at a press conference today that it intends to sue Valero Energy Corporation and its parent company, Premcor Refining […]

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