May 1, 2018 by Clarissa Ayala
LSLA Named Grantee in Round 4 of Greater Houston Community Foundation’s Hurricane Harvey Relief Funds
Houston, TX – Lone Star Legal Aid has been awarded a $1,200,000 grant as part of the Hurricane Harvey Relief Fund, administered through the Greater Houston Community Foundation. Lone Star Legal Aid is one of 27 local nonprofits that provide services to Houston and Harris County flood victims. Round 4’s focus is on four primary areas of service; home repair services, behavioral health services, legal services, and homelessness prevention. Legal services after a disaster are critical to vulnerable populations who do not have the resources to obtain counsel to assist them in navigating the tedious recovery process.
“While many of us are now understandably focused on preventing another disaster like that caused by Hurricane Harvey, we cannot and will not forget that the healing process for so many of our neighbors is still underway,” Harris County Judge Ed Emmett said. “Thanks to the generosity of our donors to the Relief Fund, we are able to help as many people as possible according to their unmet needs.”
This grant will support Lone Star Legal Aid’s disaster relief team’s work helping homeowners and renters facing legal issues related to Harvey. Survivors have and will continue to face consumer protection issues, landlord/tenant issues, breach of contract, title clearance issues, and FEMA appeals. Lone Star Legal Aid attorneys have been successful in obtaining benefits for clients unable to repair their homes due to home title issues related to inherited property, with the necessary documents filed with county property records. LSLA attorneys have also been successful in acquiring temporary restraining orders for renters seeking more time to leave as well as assisting renters in terminating their leases for uninhabitable properties. Other successes involve recoupment of benefits for personal property loss, transportation assistance, and estate planning.
Saundra Brown, Lone Star Legal Aid’s Directing Attorney of Disaster Legal Services, explained that “the Greater Houston Community Foundation’s Hurricane Harvey Relief Fund will allow us to continue to assist survivors. We are proud to be part of this grant for the next year, and, as always, meet long-term legal disaster needs.”
The Hurricane Harvey Relief Fund, set up by Houston’s Mayor Turner and Harris County Judge Emmett, is focused on immediate and long-term relief efforts in Harris County and Houston (which may include City residents in Fort Bend or Montgomery Counties).
The Greater Houston Community Foundation is a public charitable foundation focused on helping donors expand their philanthropic impact. For over 20 years they have partnered with individuals, families, corporations, foundations, and their advisors to extend their giving in new ways, with greater results.
Lone Star Legal Aid is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit law firm focused on advocacy on behalf of low-income and underserved populations. Lone Star Legal Aid serves the millions of people at 125% of federal poverty guidelines that reside in 72 counties in the eastern and Gulf Coast regions of Texas, and also 4 counties of southwest Arkansas. Lone Star Legal Aid focuses its resources on maintaining, enhancing, and protecting income and economic stability; preserving housing; improving outcomes for children; establishing and sustaining family safety and stability, health and well‐being; and assisting populations with special vulnerabilities, such as those who have disabilities, or who are elderly, homeless, or have limited English language skills. To learn more about Lone Star Legal Aid, visit our website at www.lonestarlegal.org.
Media contact: Clarissa Ayala
