Legal Aid Receives Support for Outreach to Rural Texans

Contact:
Cynthia Martinez, Communications Director * 512-374-2764 * cmartinez@trla.org

WESLACO, Texas – May 13, 2013 – The Texas Bar Foundation has awarded a grant of $11,620 to Texas RioGrande Legal Aid (TRLA) in support of expanding legal outreach to underserved areas of rural Texas.

The grant will go to support TRLA’s Rural Outreach Initiative (ROI), a program started in 2010 aimed at educating residents of rural areas on TRLA’s services and exploring systemic legal issues in these communities. The ROI is a project of TRLA and the Pro Bono Program at the University of Texas School of Law.

“Low-income Texans living in rural areas often have difficulty accessing the legal system,” said TRLA Executive Director David Hall. “Since we do not have offices in these areas, our Rural Outreach Initiative is vital to giving residents the support they need to fight for their legal rights.”

During the program, TRLA attorneys and UT law students visit small, rural towns and meet with residents regarding legal problems facing the community and services offered by TRLA. Additional visits throughout the year allow advocates to help residents address their legal issues and build relationships with community institutions to ensure that TRLA retains a strong presence in the area.

Added Hall, “The support of the Texas Bar Foundation will go a long way in helping low-income Texans get the legal help they need.”

Since its inception in 1965, the Texas Bar Foundation has awarded more than $14 million in grants to law-related programs.  Supported by members of the State Bar of Texas, the Texas Bar Foundation is the nation’s largest charitably funded bar foundation.

Established in 1970, Texas RioGrande Legal Aid, Inc. (TRLA) is a nonprofit organization that provides free civil legal services to low-income and disadvantaged clients in a 68-county service area. TRLA’s mission is to promote the dignity, self-sufficiency, safety, and stability of low-income Texas residents by providing high-quality civil legal assistance and related educational services. For more information, including donor and pro bono opportunities, visit www.trla.org.

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Federal, State Budget Troubles Force Drastic Cuts in Legal Help for Low-Income Texans

Contact
Cynthia Martinez, Communications Director * 512.374.2764 * cmartinez@trla.org

WESLACO, Texas — April 9, 2013 — Texas RioGrande Legal Aid (TRLA) today announced that the sequestration of federal funding is forcing the organization to enact measures that will reduce the number of low-income Texans receiving free legal help each year.

A fifteen percent cut in federal funding in 2012, stagnant state funding, and a half a million dollar loss in revenue due to the sequester have put TRLA in a dire financial situation, forcing the organization to reduce operating costs by $3.5 million.  Among the measures announced today is a twenty-two percent workforce reduction, including the closing of the organization’s office in Del Rio.

According to TRLA Executive Director David Hall, “These are painful and traumatic times for legal aid organizations. We’ve been fortunate to avoid having to take drastic measures in the past, but our luck has run out.”

The most devastating impact of the cuts will be felt by low-income Texans in need of free legal assistance.  Currently Texas legal aid organizations are only able to serve twenty percent of Texans in need of legal help but unable to afford the cost of an attorney. TRLA helps approximately 22,000 of those Texans every year, including victims of domestic violence, veterans, and families facing homelessness. An estimated 5,000 fewer families will receive legal help as a result of these cuts.

“Our commitment to low-income Texans is unwavering. But the reality is that we’re going to have to turn away more people who need help,” added Hall. “Ensuring that all Texans have access to the justice system, regardless of their income, will require support from the community and private bar now more than ever.”

Established in 1970, Texas RioGrande Legal Aid, Inc. (TRLA) is a nonprofit organization that provides free civil legal services to low-income and disadvantaged clients in a 68-county service area. TRLA’s mission is to promote the dignity, self-sufficiency, safety, and stability of low-income Texas residents by providing high-quality civil legal assistance and related educational services. For more information, including donor and pro bono opportunities, visit www.trla.org.

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Legal Aid to Offer Free Legal Help to Gonzales County Residents Facing Divorce

GONZALES, Texas – March 4, 2013 – Texas RioGrande Legal Aid (TRLA) will be offering a free legal clinic to help low-income residents of Gonzales County get divorced at no cost. Interested residents must apply for the clinic by April 1st.

The clinic will help Gonzales County residents, many of whom cannot afford the high cost of a private attorney, go through the divorce process with free legal help provided by experienced TRLA attorneys.

Migrant Farmworkers Sue Iowa Company Over False Promises & Unsanitary Conditions

Contact:
Marinda van Dalen, Attorney * 956-982-5540 * mvandalen@trla.org
Cynthia Martinez, Communications Director * 512-374-2764 * cmartinez@trla.org

BROWNSVILLE, Texas – February 15, 2013 – Seventeen Rio Grande Valley migrant farmworkers have filed a lawsuit against Iowa’s Monsanto Company and three individuals over false promises of employment, unpaid wages, and unsanitary living and working conditions. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of the workers and seven young children.

Former Employees Sue Edinburg Business Over Unpaid Wages

MCALLEN, Texas – January 16, 2013 — Seven former employees of Edinburg’s Bella Hacienda Adult Day Care have filed a lawsuit against the business for failing to pay them proper wages.

Represented by Texas RioGrande Legal Aid (TRLA) and the South Texas Civil Rights Project (STCRP), the workers claim that they were promised wages between $8 and $9 an hour but were not paid for most or all of the time they worked at the day care in 2012. Several of the workers also claim that the day care failed to reimburse them for work-related expenses.