Read more about the history of CCJ’s founding from some of the folks who were there when it started:
The Delaware legislature passed a new law in 2023 guaranteeing a Right to Representation in Evictions Cases. The legislation provides for a phased implementation over three years (which started November 22, 2023) by Delaware’s three legal aid agencies.
In March, we celebrated everyone who made the 2023 campaign such a success: our donors, supporters, and volunteers.
In a blog post on the CCJ website, Community Legal Aid Society, Inc. Executive Director, Daniel Atkins, writes about the remarkable history of CLASI’s advocacy work.
“These individual cases are undoubtedly the heart and soul of our work, and they help thousands of people each year. They keep us connected to our client communities, immerse us in our clients’ lives, and help us track patterns across client communities to understand what systemic issues are adversely impacting people in our state. This in turn leads to the work that we don’t always have a chance to talk about with our supporters: the systemic advocacy that we do.”
Without Community Legal Aid Society, Inc.’s assistance, Mr. Simpson said he would never have been able to handle the appeals process on his own and would have been forced to give up. “When I got the decision I jumped for joy,” he told us. “I want to thank CLASI for hanging in there with me, I put my trust in you, and I am so grateful. It means so much to me that you believed in this case and believed in me.”
Interested in more data about the impact of civil legal services? Read Legal Services Corporation’s research into the gap between the need for civil legal assistance among Americans with low-incomes and the resources available to meet that need.
The full quote from Justice Powell can be found here: “Equal justice under law is not merely a caption on the facade of the Supreme Court building, it is perhaps the most inspiring ideal of our society. It is one of the ends for which our entire legal system exists…it is fundamental that justice should be the same, in substance and availability, without regard to economic status.”
For our spring appeal, LSCD Staff Attorney Elizabeth Rowe shared some thoughts:
“Every day, the attorneys at LSCD, CLASI, and DVLS are able to gain the trust of clients who feel their cases are not winnable, who feel their situation is hopeless, who are vulnerable. Through our advocacy we are often able to make a difference beyond just ‘winning their case.’ When you are able to make a difference in the life of a person who is in an untenable and stressful situation, then we have truly achieved our mission.”
This summer, U.S. Senator Christopher Coons chaired a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on our country’s “justice gap”—the divide between those who can afford a lawyer and the millions of Americans facing civil legal problems who must navigate the system alone because they can’t access representation.
Hear his remarks about the justice gap, and the work of Delaware’s legal aid agencies at the link below!
Delaware’s three civil legal aid agencies have a total of 50 grants across all three organizations. These agencies juggle as many grants as possible to fund this crucial work. Another piece of the funding puzzle? 12% of the agency budgets come from funds raised by the Combined Campaign for Justice!
