The Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) is currently accepting applications for Disaster Unemployment Assistance (DUA) following February’s Winter Storm Uri. As of February 19, 2021, workers who have lost their jobs or self-employed individuals who haven’t been able to work due to damages from the storm may be eligible for DUA benefits. Am I eligible? If one of the following applies to […]
Following last week’s winter storm, many Texas consumers saw their wholesale electricity rates shoot up significantly, leaving them worried that their power would be disconnected if they were unable to make their utility payments. The Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUC) has put in place several orders last Sunday that aim to protect Texans from utility disconnections for non-payment. In […]
In the aftermath of the Texas winter storm, which resulted in more snow than the state has seen since 1968, many Texans are desperately seeking help for the physical damage their homes have sustained. While this disaster has brought many communities together, it has also opened the doors to inevitable scams, like price gouging or home repair fraud. Scammers rely […]
The Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs (TDHCA) has recently received $1.3 billion in Emergency Rental Assistance funds from the newly passed Coronavirus Relief Bill Rental Assistance Program. TDHCA will use the funds to help renters in Texas pay both current and past due rent and utility bills. Applicants can require assistance for past due, current, and up to […]
Join Texas Disaster Legal Help (TDLH) for their new podcast on title clearing. Listen as Speaker Dina Hardwick delves into the effects of an uncleared title on a disaster survivor. Learn quick ways to clear the title without probate. Find out how to deal with manufactured homes transfers of ownership, and how to determine if the mobile home is personal […]
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Lone Star Legal Aid Communications department launched their virtual outreach program: a series of live discussions with community partners aimed at connecting with the Texas community to keep them informed on available services, changes and updates to government orders, and bring awareness to certain highlighted issues. One of our recurring virtual outreach efforts, […]
In January 2020, Marta Garcia and her family moved into an apartment complex in Livingston, Texas. Shortly upon their arrival, the family discovered that the stove wasn’t working and there was an infestation of centipedes and scorpions in the apartment. Concerned for the health and safety of her family, Mrs. Garcia made requests for repairs and extermination to the apartment […]
Lone Star Legal Aid’s virtual outreach program, which was initially started as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic, has gained significant traction and flourished into a dynamic and effective tool accessible across multiple platforms for the general public. Included in our virtual outreach schedule is our recurring Law Talk Fridays: every Friday, one of our branches or units collaborates with […]
With the recent passage of an additional, second stimulus check, Americans are wondering when they will get their payments. Lone Star Legal Aid’s Low Income Taxpayer Clinic (LITC) prepared answers to the most common stimulus-related questions they are receiving. What is the stimulus? Stimulus payments, also called Recovery Rebate or Economic Impact credits, allow eligible Americans the ability to claim […]
In observance of the new year, all Lone Star Legal Aid offices will be closed Thursday, December 31 and Friday, January 1. All offices will resume normal business hours on Monday, January 4 for online and telephone intakes. We wish you a happy new year and look forward to serving our community in 2021.
With at least 4 million Texans having filed for unemployment since the beginning of the pandemic, there has been a significant increase in eviction cases as well. Tenants and landlords have been awaiting an update on the federal moratorium on evictions. The moratorium has now been extended until June 30, 2021. The Texas Eviction Diversion Program launched in October. The […]
Linda Calhoun was supporting her three-year-old daughter on her salary from Luby’s, where she has worked for the last 14 years, with no help from the father. With the help of a roommate, Calhoun could pay all of her bills and live in a nice place close to work. However, like so many others, COVID-19 dealt Calhoun a heavy blow, […]
Houston, Texas – Lone Star Legal Aid is hosting a Facebook Live event on Thursday, December 10, 2020, at 12:00 PM CST to discuss the Center for Disease Control and Prevention order preventing eviction for the remainder of 2020. As the end of the year rounds the corner, Texas tenants are anxious about their rights in eviction cases. The federal […]
The Texas Disaster Legal Help project, a joint project of Lone Star Legal Aid, Legal Aid of NorthWest Texas, and Texas RioGrande Legal Aid, is hard at work, creating resources and integrating advanced technology, to ensure that volunteer attorneys are prepared to effectively respond to the legal needs of disaster survivors – before the next disaster occurs. In the coming […]
The Coastal Texas Study is a proposal from the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) to spend approximately $20 billion to protect the Texas Gulf Coast from flooding during storms and from rising sea levels. Its impacts will be broad, and affect many aspects of life on the Gulf Coast. The US Army Corps of Engineers recently released a “Draft […]
Kamaria Chery is an active-duty soldier currently stationed at Fort Hood and the mother to a newborn son. When her son was only 5 months old, his father filed a family suit seeking to be named the Sole Managing Conservator for him. Chery was concerned because shortly before, she had reported him to the authorities at Fort Hood, and they […]
Elizabeth Villareal came to LSLA after being served with an eviction petition and having her water shut off for three weeks. She, her husband, and two daughters were struggling financially as a result of COVID-19; Elizabeth contracted COVID and lost her job as a result. By the time she had recovered, the business had gone under. Elizabeth’s landlord, who was […]
Need free or low-cost health insurance for your kids? Would you like assistance with applying for Food Stamps? Come to a free Lone Star Legal Aid enrollment clinic! Where: Spring Branch Family Development Center – Social Services Office 8575 Pitner Road Houston, TX 77080 When: Thursday, October 29th from 9 am – 2 pm Thursday, November 5th from 9 am […]
Many of the 1.5 million incarcerated people in the U.S. met the requirements for stimulus payments but only 85,000 of them were able to receive their checks before the action was reversed. Those who had been incarcerated as of March 27, 2020 were previously deemed ineligible by the IRS to receive their stimulus checks. However, the IRS is appealing to […]
With the nation beginning its economic recovery, the Texas Workforce Commission will reinstate work search requirements for those in need of unemployment benefits. Work search requirements have been suspended since March when the pandemic forced sweeping shutdowns. Although the COVID crisis is nowhere near resolved, employment opportunities have been steadily cropping up in Texas as the economy slowly adjusts. When […]