VLSP: Broadening Our Reach Into The Community

By Victoria Jacobs, VLSP Managing Attorney

An ongoing challenge to a volunteer-based pro bono organization such as ours is to reach out to inform the community about the services that we offer. Despite the fact that the Voluntary Legal Services has been around for 23 years, we find that we need to continually make ourselves known to the many community organizations and agencies who are a major source of referrals of low-income clients to our program. While we certainly receive many phone calls from prospective clients that we individually screen, clients must meet certain income and asset eligibility requirements to receive services, and they also must be seeking assistance with the type of cases (ie., the subject matter and status of the case) that our volunteers wish to provide assistance with.

Volunteers can help publicize VLSP in the community.

We are often asked by volunteers, both attorneys and others, what they can do for our program besides taking on cases or participating in our pro per clinics. VLSP can always use help in spreading the word about our program in the community. This includes making presentations about VLSP's services to the staff and volunteers of community organizations of which the volunteer is a member. If you aren't comfortable about making the presentation yourself, one of our staff members would be happy to come out and introduce VLSP to your community-based organization. Further, if you are participating at a fair or festival where informational booths are available, please let us know. We'd be glad to participate.

In addition, we have flyers describing our legal clinics that can be distributed to the public, as well as a brochure containing general information about our program that can be distributed to clients. If you are a volunteer with a community organization whose clients might benefit from VLSP's services, please give us a call at (916) 551-2116. We'd be happy to supply you with flyers and brochures to distribute.

VLSP needs the assistance of bilingual volunteer attorneys and interpreters.

A further challenge to a volunteer-based organization like VLSP is providing services to those clients in our community whose primary language is not English. To help alleviate that problem, VLSP recruits volunteer attorneys who are bilingual as well as non-attorney interpreters who are willing to volunteer their services to assist attorneys who are representing clients whose primary language is not English. We can also use interpreter volunteers to assist clients in our pro per legal clinics.

To date, the greatest number of clients seeking our services whose primary language is not English speak Spanish. For the period between January 2003 through June 2004, VLSP provided assistance to nearly 200 clients whose primary language is Spanish. This does not include the many additional clients who receive limited advice in Spanish by telephone.

To better assist those clients, VLSP has instituted a Spanish language client intake line. The telephone number is (916) 551-2129. In addition, we are translating the relevant portions of our web site (www.vlsp.org) into Spanish, so that Spanish-speaking clients with internet access can read about the services we can provide.

At VLSP's Debt/Bankruptcy Clinic and our Employment Clinic, we have on staff an attorney who speaks Spanish as well as a clinic coordinator who speaks Spanish. Nevertheless, the demand for bilingual services at these clinics often is greater than the ability of our staff to keep up with. Our staff has translated many of our clinic handouts into Spanish to assist our clients better.

We would like to be able to assist clients whose primary language is not English or Spanish. To do that, however, VLSP needs to recruit volunteers who are willing to provide interpreter services in other languages. It is not necessary for interpreters to be certified, just fluent.

Bilingual attorneys or interpreters are welcome to sign up as volunteers at VLSP. To do so, an on-line application is available at www.vlsp.org, or a paper volunteer application can be mailed to you by calling VLSP's volunteer line at (916) 551-2116. We would love to hear from you.

September /October 2004