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Legal Aid Bureau—Make A Gift Your support allows the Legal Aid Bureau to continue its 120-year-history of providing free legal services to the Chicago metropolitan area's most vulnerable residents. "I just wanted to stop by and greet you… I came to say thank you for your unconditional support of my family and me. The times of frustration are behind us and my children and I can go forward. They are doing well in school. I am in my third trimester of school in the paralegal program. It is going very well. I am on the honor roll. This I obtained thanks to you and your office who have supported me greatly since I came here. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. Thank you for making a positive difference in our lives. And thank you again for making our Christmas a very special one (through MFS Holiday Gift Program)." With your help, the Legal Aid Bureau can continue to provide protection from physical abuse for victims of domestic violence and their children, end financial exploitation and restore dignity and independence to the elderly, ensure that families can remain in their homes and be free from predatory lending practices. Ms. Powell's Story — At 83, Ms. Powell was living in her own home but suffering from dementia. Relatives became concerned when they noticed her neighbors going into her home and using her car. The police referred the case to Metropolitan Family Service's Elder Abuse Team. Working together, LAB's elder law attorney and the Elder Abuse Team created a service plan that would allow Ms. Powell to remain in her home. A formal guardianship was established, naming a reliable family member to manage Ms. Powell's finances. The grandchildren to whom Ms. Powell had quitclaimed the house were persuaded to let her continue living there. Social workers arranged for a home-maker to visit Ms. Powell four days a week and a friend of the family agreed to live with Ms. Powell and make sure she ate regular meals and took her medication. Today she lives in her own home, free from financial exploitation and is getting the care she needs. Keeping a Mother and Daughter Together — Sandy was six when her father moved out. He left because her mother had gotten an order of protection against him. The father continued to pay the fees on the co-op apartment, which he owned, and Sandy and Sandy's mother continued to live there. When Sandy was twelve, her father got angry at the mother, evicted her and Sandy, and refused to provide any financial support. Sandy and her mother ended up at a shelter. The father was eventually ordered to pay child support with the court mediator, the latter recommending that Sandy's father only have supervised visitation with Sandy. The mother came to the Legal Aid Bureau when the father refused to pay the court-ordered support. In response, Sandy's father filed a petition for custody, claiming the mother had created an "unstable environment" by failing to provide a proper home for Sandy. At the Legal Aid Bureau's request, the judge dismissed the father's petition for custody, ordered the father to give the mother $700 towards back child support, and granted formal permission for the mother to move to Danville, Ill., where her family had an apartment waiting for her and would help her obtain employment. How to Make a Gift Click here to find out how to support our work, then go to "Make a Gift Online" to designate a specific gift for the Legal Aid Bureau.
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Make a gift
