Grantee Stories
March 2024
SERVING THE WHOLE COMMUNITY – TACOMAPROBONO’S OUTREACH PARTNERSHIPS AND RESOURCE NAVIGATOR PROGRAM BREAKS ACCESS BARRIERS AND EXPANDS ACCESS TO HOLISTIC, INTEGRATED SERVICES
Pierce County is an extremely diverse place, not only in terms of its unique population but also as an area with both large and growing urban areas (Tacoma, Lakewood) and many smaller rural communities which are geographically remote and isolated due to lack of public transportation, from Key Peninsula to Mt. Rainier.
As a result of the success of outreach partnerships built out of necessity during the pandemic with the Pierce County Library System, Tacoma Public Libraries, and other community centers to bring access to landlord-tenant legal advice and much-needed rental assistance into remote communities, Tacomaprobono Community Lawyers is continuing to develop and expand outreach as increasingly important part of its service delivery model.
Developing these partnerships has allowed our staff to use a ‘Legal Aid Pop-Up’ model to get out into the community to learn first-hand about what’s needed directly from people experiencing problems and the community organizations serving them, and to take advantage of trusted, supportive locations to meet people where they live. Continuing to develop new partnerships and scheduling repeated visits to areas of high need is indeed addressing geographic barriers, and we are also seeing an impact on the more intangible access issues — lack of trust in the legal system, lack of knowledge about availability of legal services, lack of belief that they will be heard or that their problem can be solved.
Along with the continued growth and development of outreach, Tacomaprobono’s Resource Navigator program is another innovative program providing holistic service for clients who need more assistance in order to remain housed. Resource Navigators Lindsey Russell, Katee Myer and Molly Golanka are bringing a much-needed social work presence to help keep our clients on a path to stability as they negotiate their legal issues with the help of our staff and volunteer attorneys.
Originally conceived in 2022 as a part of the Housing Justice Project to assist clients experiencing housing instability or facing homelessness in taking the steps needed to remain housed, the program has proven to be so powerful in getting results for our clients that it is now serving existing clients from all parts of our program.
The Resource Navigator program is currently expanding, along with the Legal Aid Pop-Up program which continues to add regular sessions in new locations, most recently Gig Harbor Civic Center, Sumner-Bonney Lake Family Support Center, Springbrook Connections, Puyallup Library, Making a Difference Foundation’s Wednesday food distribution at the Tacoma Dome, and more. The Pop-ups are also attracting new volunteer attorneys, some of whom live in the more remote communities we seek to serve. The full pop-up calendar is on our website, www.tacomaprobono.org. All pop-ups are walk-in, first-come-first-served events, no screening, all civil legal issues welcome.
Contact information for Tacomaprobono Community Lawyers:
Melisa Evangelos, Executive Director: mevangelos@tacomaprobono.org
Laurie Davenport, Communications Director: laurie@tacomaprobono.org
Melissa Wolkenhauer, Manager, Volunteer Legal Program: melissaw@tacomaprobono.org