Law Advocates

Programs: Law advocates' mission is to provide access to justice to low-income whatcom county residents. Our program priorities emphasize assistance to vulnerable program priorities emphasize assistance to vulnerable individuals who would be unlikely to succeed in their legal matters without assistance. Priority cases include those involving threats to safety and basic needs and those that will make a measurable and significant impact in our clients' lives. These include legal matters that are not currently being served in our community. We fulfill our mission through a wide range of programs and clinics, as well as by placing cases with one of the more than 250 attorneys in our community that volunteer for us. In 2013 we served over 1,500 individuals; 20% of whom

our self-help parenting plan clinic for survivors of domestic violence fills an important gap in our community by providing intensive, individualized legal guidance to survivors of domestic violence who will represent themselves in court. Our clinic attorney, supported by volunteers, assists with drafting parenting plans and related documents that provide appropriate legal protections for our clients and their children. The self-help nature of the clinic allows us to navigate a difficult legal s

our homeless disability benefits advocacy project seeks to end homelessness by assisting homeless disabled individuals to obtain the state and federal disability benefits to which they are entitled. These benefits provide an income stream and medical insurance to the recipients, enabling them to secure housing and stabilizing medical treatment. Our advocate conducts weekly outreach to the homeless in our community at shelters and other key locations and provides assistance preparing initial appl