|
|
|||
ABOUT US |
|
||
|
A Little History The Atlanta Legal Aid Society, Inc. began in 1924 with a budget of $600, courtesy of a grant from the Community Chest. The ensuing decades saw modest increases in funding, with the Community Chest, later the United Way, providing the majority of the budget. By 1960, Legal Aid's annual budget was only $50,000, most of which was used to support the salaries of 5 staff attorneys. Then came the civil rights movement and the 1960s. The introduction of the Lyndon Johnson's Great Society programs in the mid-1960s not only revolutionized social services programs in the United States, but legal services as well. The Office of Economic Opportunity was mandated to fund local legal aid organizations, allowing them to move from small storefront operations to sophisticated neighborhood offices with multiple attorneys and support staff. The financial and psychological impact was incalculable: by 1971, Legal Aid grew to a staff of 44 attorneys in 5 offices and a $1 million budget. Federal funding for legal services to the poor was institutionalized with the creation of the Legal Services Corporation (LSC) in 1974. This private entity serves as the federal regulatory body and the federal funding conduit for legal service programs nationally. By 1980, Atlanta Legal Aid was receiving over 75% of funding through LSC. The election of Ronald Reagan in 1980 offered a turning point in Legal Aid's funding. Reagan, ideologically opposed to government support of legal services and smarting from his experiences with legal aid as governor of California, propelled severe budget cuts for LSC, and by default, legal service organizations across the nation. Steve Gottlieb's tenure as executive director of Atlanta Legal Aid was only a few weeks old when news of likely dramatic budget cuts filtered down to the organizations. Gottlieb reacted proactively, recruiting Sutherland Asbill Brennan's Randolph Thrower, an elder statesman of Atlanta's attorneys, to help create an annual campaign in 1983. The target audience for the campaign was thousands of local attorneys and Atlanta's many law firms. These attorneys and firms remain Legal Aid's core support. The first campaign was a resounding success, raising more than $150,000. Through a little careful planning and a lot of hard work, Legal Aid has lessened it reliance on government funding and created a diverse funding mix that now includes the annual campaign, private foundations, and state and local grants in addition to LSC. LSC funding is now only a third of its budget. Read more about us in our latest Annual Report.
|
How To Get Help: To apply for legal aid, please call the office for the county where you live, or the Senior Legal Hotline, if you are over age 60: Clayton/South Fulton (404) 669-0233 Cobb (770) 528-2565 DeKalb (404) 377-0701 Fulton County (404) 524-5811 Gwinnett (678) 376-4545 Senior Citizen Hotline (Age 60 or older) throughout Georgia OTHER COUNTIES IN GEORGIA See Georgia Legal Services Program. SPECIAL INTAKE LINESAIDS Legal Project / The Cancer and ALS Legal Initiative/ The Breast Cancer Project: (404) 614-3969 Hearing Impaired: Georgia Relay Center Hispanic Outreach Law Project Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program Relative Caregiver Adoptions: (404) 657-9915 Senior Citizen Hotline (Age 60 or older) throughout Georgia Read more about our departments and special projects. LEGAL AID IN OTHER STATES See Legal Services Corporation IF YOU ARE TURNED DOWN BY LEGAL AID There may be other free resources available. See Other Legal Resources on our web site. You can find a private attorney quickly and fairly inexpensively through the Atlanta Bar Association Referral Service at 404-521-0777. Other local bar associations sometimes have referral services. See Local and Voluntary Bars listed by the State Bar of Georgia. |
