Pro Bono Surge team forms to give legal aid to minorities impacted by COVID-19
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — There is a new type of legal help available for people who can’t afford it. It’s part of an effort to address economic barriers for minorities.
The team of lawyers is working to provide legal aid and is called the Pro Bono Surge team.
Black, Latinx and and other marginalized communities have disproportionately been impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. The Greater Indianapolis Progress Committee (GIPC) is behind the idea and said there’s value in deploying the team now.
The COVID-19 pandemic has not only taken thousands of lives, it’s also taken away many people’s livelihoods. Eviction and unemployment rates have climbed over recent months, with data showing Black, Latinx and other marginalized communities feeling the brunt of that.
Karen Bravo, dean and a professor at the Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law, said, “We are in such a time of uncertainty with the pandemic and the effects, all the studies show that those who are most socioeconomic vulnerable are also those who are suffering most the consequences of the virus.”
Navigating through the pandemic might be too much to handle alone. Despite an eviction moratorium, many Hoosiers were still pushed from their homes, and any hope of pursing legal action was often dashed because tenants and homeowners didn’t have the money or knowledge to do anything about it.
“It is difficult to ask an individual who doesn’t have training to understand all of the ramifications of what they may face,” she said.
The Greater Indianapolis Progress Committee took a bold step and created the Pro Bono Surge team.
“We hope that it is providing needed help and tremendous help for those who are especially challenged through these difficult times of COVID 19 and challenging economy,” said Myra Selby, chair of the Greater Indianapolis Progress Committee and a former Indiana Supreme Court justice.
The Indianapolis Legal Aid Society, Indiana Legal Services, and Neighborhood Christian Legal Clinic are the three agencies that the Greater Indianapolis Progress Committee is collaborating with to deploy the volunteer attorneys.
Selby said, “We hope this surge of volunteers will provide help to individual clients who would otherwise perhaps have to stand in line for legal assistance or not get any assistance at all.”
Organizers said you don’t necessarily need to be an attorney with court experience because volunteers will get training. So far, about 30 volunteer attorneys are going through that training.