GIVE FOR GOOD • GIVE FOR JUSTICE

Make a gift today through Give for Good Louisville and the first $20,000 will be matched by a generous anonymous donor. Every dollar raised helps us pursue justice for people in poverty. Below are a few stories that reflect the impact of civil legal aid and the impact of your support.

GIVE FOR LINA

Lina was born and raised in Germany and never thought she would leave her home country until she met her husband, an American soldier on deployment. They fell in love and moved to Kentucky. When Lina was pregnant with her first child, her husband became emotionally and physically violent. Throughout her marriage, she wanted to flee but always feared for her five children. In 2010, she sought a protective order, hoping her husband would change. He didn’t. She felt powerless and did not have the financial resources to leave the family home or hire an attorney.

By 2020, she had enough and contacted Legal Aid Society. Though it took years, her divorce finally went to trial. Legal Aid Society was with her the entire way. Through the strength of her convictions and the strength of our legal arguments, Lina escaped the violence and charted a course of stability and security for her children. Through the divorce, Lina retained the family home free and clear of any claim of interest from her husband and was awarded sole custody of her children and a substantial amount of money from her husband’s retirement account. Now Lina and her children live their days unafraid and full of hope for a brighter future.

GIVE FOR HENRY

On his last tour in Afghanistan, Captain Henry Duke Livingston was gravely injured while trying to remove an explosive strapped onto a juvenile civilian. When Captain Livingston returned to the U.S., having completed his service in the Marines, he experienced more trauma when he lost his wife and children in a tragic accident. Despite his profound loss and injury, Captain Livingston did what every good Marine does and kept moving forward.

Life would deal another blow when he was diagnosed with cancer in 2022. In the late summer of that same year, a bureaucratic snag delayed the payment of his social security disability check, and Captain Livingston fell behind on his rent. Captain Livingston was served an eviction notice while in Hospice care.

That's when Legal Aid Society's Volunteer Eviction Defense Project stepped in, and private attorney, Brian Abell, began representing Captain Livingston. He negotiated with Captain Livingston's landlord and helped the Captain apply for rental assistance. Time was of the essence for Captain Livingston. Because of Mr. Abell's expertise, Captain Livingston remained in his home and received hospice care with the dignity and respect he deserved, as a human being and as a Veteran.

GIVE FOR EVE

Eve is a proud mother who immigrated from Haiti. She has worked for a cleaning service for years to support herself and her daughter and, most importantly, to save for her daughter’s college tuition. In 2018, Eve’s world was turned upside down when her identity was stolen. The thief opened a credit card in her name and incurred over $1,000 in debt, which Eve learned about when she was contacted by a debt collector. English is Eve’s second language, and she struggled to explain that the charges weren’t hers. She followed all the right protocols, filled out all the correct forms, and even filed an identity theft report and police report with local law enforcement. She thought the matter had been resolved, but the creditor sold her debt to a third-party buyer and Eve was sued. Before Eve could respond, a judgment was entered against her. Scared and unfamiliar with the U.S. court system, Eve feared she might go to jail.

That’s when Eve learned about Legal Aid Society and called us. Eve’s attorney immediately filed a motion to have the original judgment set aside. We laid out the facts of the case and all the supporting evidence, and the judge ruled in our favor. Not only does Eve no longer have any legal liability on this debt, but she feels heard and vindicated. Eve is still saving for her daughter’s college and is looking forward to the next chapter in her life!

GIVE FOR ROBERT

We met Robert while he was in treatment for a substance use disorder at The Healing Place. Each month, Legal Aid Society holds an on-site clinic at The Healing Place with our PROJECT RENEW program (a program to remove civil legal barriers to recovery). Robert needed assistance with navigating a Social Security issue. Specifically, he did not know where his payments were being deposited. When he went to the Social Security office for clarification, they could not provide any information unless he provided his bank account information. Robert only knew the name of his bank.

Initially, we thought our assistance would be limited to helping Robert call his bank to get his account number. However, after talking with the bank representative, we discovered that Robert’s account was overdrawn and that the Social Security payments were, in fact, being deposited, but payments were also being issued through payment apps that had drained his bank account. Robert’s sister had gained access to his bank account and was stealing his Social Security payments for months. We helped Robert open a fraud claim with the bank and shut down the old bank account. We then explained the process of opening a new account and how to contact Social Security to update his information so that he could again receive Social Security. Recovery is hard. It doesn’t need to be harder because of a legal issue. Robert no longer has to worry about his income and can focus on his health.

GIVE FOR GOOD