What type of community support does the Legal Department need right now?
Our legal department needs donations and/or pro bono attorney support to achieve our goals.
Many abusers use the court system to control their victims, how do your legal advocates support clients in these cases?
Our legal advocates provide information to help clients navigate the court system. If we don't have the information for our clients, we reach out to partner agencies or refer our clients to local attorneys who can provide a free to low-cost consultation.
Do you have funding for an attorney if a client require this type of help?
Unfortunately, HAVEN currently doesn't have the funding to assist with attorney services.
What does your dream Legal Department look like? What type of community financial support would make this a reality?
A dream for HAVEN's legal department would be providing same day restraining order services for our clients. As of right now, HAVEN clients are placed on a wait list that they might wait up to two weeks. If we had the funding, we would have two legal advocates to dedicate their time for walk-in same day services for restraining orders OR have an attorney on staff to assist with restraining orders, child custody, economic orders, and divorce.