The start of a new year presents a good opportunity to take stock of our good fortune and to thank our supporters. The staff of the Voluntary Legal Services Program is grateful for the ongoing support, both financially and in terms of volunteerism, of the Sacramento County Bar Association. Because of the volunteer work performed by hundreds of local attorneys each year, plus the financial support of the SCBA and its members through our annual fundraising Phoneathon, VLSP is able to provide pro bono assistance to thousands of Sacramento area indigent clients each year.

This year, VLSP will celebrate its 25th anniversary as the pro bono organization sponsored by the SCBA. Back in 1981, through the leadership of Jim-now Judge--Mize and SCBA President Tom Eres, VLSP was established to provide free civil legal services to the indigent of Sacramento and surrounding counties. The clients helped at VLSP cannot afford the assistance of an attorney and face the daunting task of navigating the judicial system on their own.

I am fortunate enough to be reminded often of the good work done by our volunteers and staff. Recently, for example, I received the following thank you letter written by a relative of a client who came to our Debt Collection Defense Clinic for assistance. For obvious reasons, I've changed the name of the client. The letter was written to our Assistant Program Manager, Heather Tiffee, who oversees that Clinic.

I would like to express my sincere thanks to you for all the assistance you and your staff provided to John and to me in my efforts to assist John in his legal matter.

Dealing with the courts and legal matters is stressful, intimidating, difficult, and confusing at best. John and I had no idea what to do or what the procedures were to try to deal with this situation. The kindness, consideration, understanding, expertise and compassion you and the staff displayed to us certainly made it less of a chore. I am grateful for the immediate and helpful response from you and your staff.

I feel that you are doing a wonderful job and I commend you for it. I am thankful that there are people like you to whom we can turn to for help. From the bottom of my heart THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR ASSISTANCE.

I think it is important for the members of the SCBA to know of the good work that is done in our community with your support. Time and time again I am moved by the gratitude we receive for providing legal assistance to those who are otherwise without hope. By the time we receive a client's phone call, he or she might have called a dozen social service agencies looking for some direction and assistance. We often find that merely taking the time to call the client back and talking to them about their legal problems and giving some basic advice will generate a "God Bless You" from the client at the end of the conversation.

We encourage you to be a part of our efforts. We are always in need of volunteers to provide services at our clinics, to take a case for direct representation, or to mentor less experienced attorneys who take a case through our program. If you want to find out more about VLSP and the volunteer opportunities available to you, please visit our web site at www.vlsp.org. There is an on-line volunteer application there. If you would like a paper application sent to you, please call Vicki Jacobs, Managing Attorney, at (916) 551-2162. We'd be happy to talk with you.

We wish you all the very best for a wonderful 2006.

January / February 2006