Recently I had the opportunity to speak to a group of In Home Support Services workers who care for low income disabled people in their homes. The idea was to tell them about the legal services offered by the Voluntary Legal Services Program so that their clients might have access to our services. The following is part of a thank you letter I received from the group's organizer: "Based upon the remarks of the students made at the end of the night, they were enthused to learn about VLSP's services. One man, an immigrant, actually had tears in his eyes as he remarked: 'Such a great country-to take care of people and treat them like human beings.'"

It is really exciting to go out and talk to a group of very poor people, such as a local homeless shelter, and tell them that VLSP might be able to help them with their legal problems and that there are over 700 attorneys who have volunteered to do so. Sadly, they are amazed that so many attorneys are willing to donate their time. However, it is encouraging to many of them that there might be some help available.

We try to be practical in our approach. There are times that a prospective client's legal problems are really minor compared to the other issues facing that person. Sometimes there is realistically no legal remedy to correct a real or perceived loss of rights. It is challenging to tell a desperately poor client that there is no realistic chance that her legal issue will be resolved in her favor. The ones we can help, however, we encourage to come to one of our clinics or be referred to a volunteer for direct representation.

In 2004, VLSP officially assisted 2900 indigent clients with their civil legal problems. That figure only includes, however, the clients we did full-fledged intakes for. It does not count the hundreds of people that our staff attorneys give telephone advice to on a yearly basis, or the hundreds of people our staff speaks to at senior centers, homeless shelters, and Sacramento County Career Centers about such issues as estate planning, Advance Health Care Directives, misdemeanor criminal records expungement, or debt and bankruptcy problems.

We could not do this work without our volunteers and the financial support of our donors. Because of their help, poor people get help in resolving their debt problems, get guardianships of their grandkids, complete estate plans and Advance Health Care Directives, get small probate issues handled, get conservatorships over their ailing parents, resolve problems with their employers, get misdemeanor criminal records expunged so that they can return to work, and get help when their identities are stolen.

Our volunteers allow us to leverage every dollar we receive into far more legal services than we staff could provide on our own. Our volunteers do a tremendous amount of work with no expectation of recognition whatsoever. We could do better in recognizing their contributions. Thank you, VLSP volunteers.

At the same time, we are still in need of more volunteer attorneys. The client demand for legal services is ever increasing. In addition, the demands on our volunteers' time in their own practices is increasing. We understand that at any one time, a volunteer may not be able to take on a pro bono case. That's why we need you!

Despite the fact that I had served on the Advisory Committee of the Voluntary Legal Services Program for over a decade, when I assumed the job of VLSP Managing Attorney over four years ago, a number of surprises awaited me. Some were pleasant, a few not so much so. Despite the occasional frustrations and bouts of cynicism, the overriding feeling that I have had since Day 1 is gratitude for the chance to work to assure that the over 700 attorney volunteers in our program, as well as our staff, are able to better the lives of people who would otherwise have no practical access to justice. I'm pleased to be able to spread the word about their work. This is a really good job, and I'm privileged to have it.

September / October 2005