You can lose your kids, home and freedom without ever seeing a lawyer. It’s a profound injustice.
You can lose your kids, home and freedom without ever seeing a lawyer. It’s a profound injustice. Opinion by the Washington Post
Message from JALA CEO Jim Kowalski
It will be a long time before any of us forgets 2020. While the year has been rough on all of us, it has been especially hard on the low-income population Jacksonville Area Legal Aid serves, many of whom were among the first to suffer the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. The effects of the coronavirus were not only evident in our community’s medical facilities, but also its food banks, shelters and yes, at JALA, where we fielded more than 9,000 requests for assistance, a 40% increase over 2019. Two areas where the needs increased the most were in eviction prevention and protection from domestic violence. Our attorneys and staff rose to the challenge of serving thousands of clients while working remotely for everyone’s safety. When we succeed, we stabilize families and thereby the community at large. Your support will enable JALA to serve more of those who would otherwise not have access to civil legal aid, thereby increasing the community’s resilience as we all seek to emerge from the global pandemic and restore our collective prosperity. Best wishes to you and your loved ones for a healthy and happy holiday season, and thank you for your support.
Domestic violence cases surge during pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a doubling of requests for help from domestic violence survivors, with Jacksonville Area Legal Aid’s staff handling nearly 300 domestic violence intakes through early December 2020, compared to 140 in all of 2019. “There has definitely been an increase in survivors requesting family law assistance since the pandemic,” said Michelle Broyles, division chief of JALA’s Family Law & Victim Advocacy Unit. “On a normal day, survivors live in fear, but when there is a lock down, ‘safe at home’ is not safe for everyone. Lockdowns force survivors to stay in close quarters with their abusers.”
Michelle Broyles Leads JALA’s Family Law and Victim Advocacy Unit
As a child in Kentucky, Michelle Broyles made a little book in school about how she wanted to be a lawyer when she grew up. “My friend actually saved my picture book,” said Broyles, division chief of JALA’s Family Law and Victim Advocacy Unit. “He kept it, and I didn’t even realize it. I actually made that decision in second grade but had forgotten about it by the time I got to law school until my friend called me to congratulate me on having achieved my life’s goal.”
Susannah Collins serves veterans, domestic violence survivors and others pro bono
Susannah Collins is a family law attorney, social investigator, attorney ad litem, and Florida Supreme Court certified family law mediator whose law office is located in Jacksonville’s historic district of Riverside. Her practice focuses on all areas of family law, including divorce, paternity, domestic violence, child time sharing, alimony, enforcement, civil parental kidnapping, and extended family adoptions. Since her practice began nearly 20 years ago, Collins has also offered many legal services pro bono.
JALA gets grandfather custody so he can enroll his grandson in kindergarten
At the request of a local judge, Michelle Broyles, Division Chief of JALA’s Family Law and Victim Advocacy Unit, began advocating on behalf of “Dre,” 5. Dre’s mother struggles with substance abuse, which led to Dre being bounced around between his grandfather in Connecticut and different people in Jacksonville, some of whom were family and some friends.
Abused young mother reunited with her son with JALA’s help
After experiencing domestic violence that included choking, hitting, punching, stalking and cyberstalking, “LaRon,” 25, turned to JALA for help. At the time, she was in the midst of a paternity case involving her son. After paternity was established, the child’s father, who was also LaRon’s abuser, then withheld her son from her without justification for more than nine months.
JALA obtains alimony and marital home in settlement for abuse survivor
“Soraya,” 54, is permanently disabled and unable to work. Her husband, a truck driver, is also her abuser. He threatened to take away her home and her citizenship if she asked for alimony. Soraya speaks only Spanish and was terrified to go to trial. She is a citizen, and it took her a long time to understand that her husband cannot take her citizenship away from her.
JALA rescues Rachel from abusive relationship
Photo not that of actual client. “Rachel,” 49, experienced severe stress as a result of her husband’s abusive treatment. After
JALA helps low-income senior obtain satisfaction of her debt and stop garnishment
Because of unpaid debt, “June,” 66, was having her income garnished by about $460 a month, which was roughly half her earnings. She believed she had paid her debt in full and that the debtor should have filed paperwork showing her debt had been satisfied. When she reached out to the debtor's attorney on her own, she was ignored. Then she came to JALA. Upon looking further into the case, her JALA attorney realized she may have had a few months left to pay due to the interest that was included in the judgment. Her JALA attorney reached out to the debtor's attorney, who agreed to waive the remainder of what was owed and file a satisfaction. JALA’s intervention saved June from several more months of garnishment she could scarcely afford.