Into this gap step the attorneys of the Legal Aid Foundation. These lawyers advise and represent 130 survivors of domestic abuse annually in south Santa Barbara County through their Family Violence Prevention Program. Eighty-five percent of these clients are women, all of whom are low-income. Half of these clients are Latino, and half have minor children. The Women’s Fund grant allows the Legal Aid Foundation to expand its services significantly by paying 53% of the salary and benefits for a legal assistant for two years. This assistant handles administrative work that allows staff attorneys to take on more clients and focus on more complex cases. Other funding provides the rest of the salary and benefits for this assistant. In her speech, Ms. Smith shared the story of one client, a Mixtec-speaking woman, who had suffered domestic abuse for years but had never called the police. When eventually a call from a third party brought the police to the family’s home, the spouse was arrested. However, the woman needed help with gaining a custody order for her minor boys as well as work authorization since her husband had been the sole wage earner. Over several years, the Legal Aid Foundation successfully secured custody and work authorization for the client, which ultimately would lead to a green card. As Ms. Smith summarized the Legal Aid Foundation’s intervention in this situation: “These holistic legal services allow this family to finally break free from the abusive father and spouse and become financially independent.” Stories such as these make concrete, personal, and meaningful all the good work being done on behalf of women and children in our community by Women’s Fund philanthropy. |
