PLEASE NOTE BEFORE READING: The names of the individuals portrayed in the following series were altered to protect our client’s identities.
Cameron was a high school senior who dreamed of enrolling in LSU and becoming the first college graduate in his family. While his parents lived in Mississippi, Cameron lived with his 23-year-old step-brother in a small apartment in Covington, LA. His parents believed that it was for the best because they could not longer take care of him themselves.
A few months before Cameron moved to Covington, his mother was diagnosed with a terminal illness. While it broke her heart to see Cameron leave her side, she had no other options but to send him away. His father also could not support him – he had lost his job, was depressed, and started abusing drugs.
When Cameron moved to Covington, he was determined to make a better life for himself. He studied hard in school and hoped that his grades would help him get accepted into college. He wanted to make his mother proud.
Unfortunately, life in his new home was far from easy. His step-brother barely made enough for the two of them to survive. Every month, they were forced to choose between having a warm meal to eat or a warm place to sleep. So, Cameron decided he needed to get a job. While still going to school full-time, he started working 40 hours a week.
Cameron still kept hitting roadblocks – he could not access the things he needed on his own because he was a minor. He couldn’t get health insurance. He couldn’t get car insurance to drive his car back and forth to work and school. He couldn’t apply for financial aid for college. He learned that without financial aid, he would have to pay for all of his tuition costs out-of-pocket. Even though he was working, he was barely making ends meet and knew he could never afford to pay the entire college tuition on his own. He felt lost and didn’t know what to do next.
Cameron’s mother encouraged him to get an emancipation so he could access the things he needed on his own. She encouraged him to get legal help. That’s when he turned to Southeast Louisiana Legal Services.
We matched his case with one of our volunteer attorneys and she helped Cameron complete the joint emancipation pleadings. They argued to the court that due to the urgency of his mother’s diminishing health, the judgment should be granted immediately. And they won. Within less than a week, Cameron was emancipated.
Now, Cameron has the legal documents he needs to take ownership of his life. Thanks to the generosity and zealous advocacy of his SLLS Northshore Pro Bono Project attorney, he can access the healthcare, car insurance, and other services he needs. And, most exciting of all, he can build a new future for himself as he launches the next chapter of his life as a college student. He looks forward to earning a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering, so that he can make enough money to support himself and his family.
PLEASE NOTE BEFORE READING: The names of the victims portrayed in the following series were altered to protect our client’s identities. This story contains descriptions of violence associated with domestic violence and human trafficking.
In the spring of their senior year, Camila and her boyfriend talked about getting married after graduation. They were high school sweethearts and wanted to spend the rest of their lives together. A couple months later, they got married and started to build a life together in Livingston, LA.
It wasn’t much later that things began to change. Camila’s husband was using drugs and drinking daily. His need to control her escalated. She lived in fear every day. He hit her. He strangled her. He forced her to have sex with other people. He threatened to kill their baby. He threatened to kill her family. When she tried to leave him, he would find her. He told her that if he couldn’t have her, then no one else could.
Arguing next to their car on the side of the road one day, he hit her so hard that he knocked her unconscious. Several people witnessed what he did. They called the police who then arrested him. Camila finally realized that there were others who could help - that there was hope for a better life.
We met Camila shortly after this incident. She was so young, barely over 20 years old, and had lived most of her teen years and all of her adult life under the thumb of her abuser. She didn’t know what she should do to escape. Her abuser had been out of jail for a week and was calling her several times a day, threatening to kill her if she didn’t let him see their daughter. When she refused to talk to him, he left her message after message on her voicemail. He repeatedly texted and called her family members. He made up fake social media profiles in attempts to get closer to her online. He told her that he would kill her if she tried to divorce him.
With help from SLLS, Camila requested a temporary protective order to keep her abuser away from her and her daughter. When she got home after requesting the order, she discovered that her mother’s house, where she had been living, was on fire. Her abuser had tried to burn it down, starting the fire in Camila’s room and destroying part of the home.
The court granted a temporary restraining order and gave Camila temporary custody of their child. However, the court also gave the abuser visitation every other weekend.
Though Camila feared her abuser and his constant threats and harassment, she still wanted her daughter to have a father and didn’t want to violate the court’s order. However, eight months later, one of her biggest fears seemed to come true. It was time for her daughter to be returned to her after a weekend visitation. Camila waited and waited and waited. And then she began to panic. Her daughter was not returned to her that day. She couldn’t get in touch with her abuser. She no longer knew where he lived. With nowhere else to turn, she called her attorney.
Our attorney walked her through the process of filing the paperwork she needed to get a contempt order from the judge. While Camila filled out forms at the Clerk’s office, our attorney called the local sheriff to explain that the abuser had violated the protective order by failing to return Camila’s daughter. She wanted the sheriff to send a deputy to pick him up and reunite Camila and her daughter immediately. The sheriff told her that he could not arrest Camila’s abuser until he received a civil warrant, which could not be issued that day. Our attorney then pointed out that the sheriff could arrest the abuser for violating the protective order, and that Camila had saved text messages showing that the abuser continued to harass her. Our attorney arranged to get that evidence immediately to the sheriff’s office. Finally the sheriff's office agreed and started the process of searching for Camila’s abuser. Camila had to wait for an agonizing week for them to find her abuser and then return her daughter into her arms.
Unfortunately, the sheriff did not arrest her abuser. And the incident only incited him to increase his harassment. He continually threatened to kill her through voicemails, photo shopped pictures, and live video streams. He soon learned that we were working to protect Camila and her kids - threatening to dismantle the web of power he had used to control her for so long. And he was mad. He left our attorney a series of irate voicemails, rife with expletives, threatening to hurt our attorney as well as Camila. While our case for permanent protections for Camila and her daughter wound its way through the court system, the abuser’s behavior grew more and more erratic and scary.
One day, he showed up at the house where Camila was staying with a friend. Camila ran into a closet with her daughter to hide, wrapped her daughter in her arms, and refused to come out until the 911 operator told her it was safe. When she emerged, she learned he had come in the house, threatened her friend with knife, and broken the windows to her car, leaving blood and shattered glass everywhere.
A month later, with our help, Camila obtained a divorce, sole custody, and a permanent protective order against her abuser. We also petitioned and prevailed on a rule for contempt because the abuser started threatening Camila in open court after the hearing. The court ordered him to 90 days in prison, giving Camila time to get her and her daughters things together as they prepared to get out of town and far away from her abuser.
We’re happy to report that Camila is now safe. She is getting the help she needs for her long journey to regain her confidence and power at a supportive services group for victims of human trafficking.
On a cold and stormy evening, Mr. Turner sat alone in the dark in a rusty, old wheelchair wondering what he could do to improve his life. His deteriorating home was owned by his family and lacked electricity, running water, and proper insulation to keep him warm at night. Aside from allowing him to live there, his family wanted nothing to do with him.
Mr. Turner struggled to make a living for himself. He worked countless hours in a series of manual labor jobs – cutting grass, digging ditches, and working in restaurants. He rarely earned more than minimum wage. While he barely managed to make ends meet, Mr. Turner hoped for a better future.
Sadly though, things took a turn and got even worse. Mr. Turner seriously hurt his left foot in an accident. Because he couldn’t afford health insurance or out-of-pocket medical costs, he didn’t go to the doctor. Left untreated, his injury got infected – he faced a serious risk of amputation. To avoid putting pressure on his infected leg, Mr. Turner used a wheelchair to get around in.
His injury and infection became more and more painful over time. Eventually, it was so bad, he could no longer work full time. He had nowhere else to go, had no job prospects, and believe there was no one who would help him. He felt hopeless.
Thankfully staff at the One Stop Homeless Services Center in Baton Rouge referred Mr. Turner for a civil legal aid assessment at SLLS’ on-site legal clinic. After listening to Mr. Turner, our attorney determined that he might qualify for Social Security benefits. We helped him file his application and represented him throughout the several months long application process. We also helped him get Medicaid and connected him to doctors and medical transportation so he could finally get treatment for his conditions.
We were thrilled when we learned that Social Security approved Mr. Turner’s application. With these benefits, Mr. Turner now has a small monthly income and continued access to Medicaid so he can keep getting the medical care he needs.
Several months after we closed the case, Mr. Turner dropped by our clinic to check in on his attorney. She learned that Mr. Turner’s health had improved tremendously. And now he’s fixing up his family’s property so he will have a safe and warm home to live in this holiday season.
Your generous support ensures that people like Mr. Turner have access to attorneys who will listen, who think holistically and connect them to other services they need, and who fight tirelessly for their legal rights. Thank you!
PLEASE NOTE BEFORE READING: The names and other identifying information of the individuals portrayed were changed to protect our client’s identity.
Because of generous support from people like you, children who are escaping abuse and neglect have a voice in their futures. They have a caring attorney to stand by their side – to fight for them and to help them feel less scared and alone in the courtroom. They have access to health care, education, and other supports they need. One of these children is Emma.
Emma was taken from her family and placed in foster care when she was only five months old. Emma’s foster family quickly fell in love with their new baby girl and wanted to nothing more than to make her their own. But because she was released from the hospital without a birth certificate, she could not be adopted.
SLLS was appointed to represent Emma. We zealously advocated for the court to order records needed to free Emma for adoption. After we got the birth certificate, we stayed on the case, determined to see Emma finally have a permanent home with the family who she loved.
Through our advocacy, the adoption was expedited after we convinced the court that systemic changes were needed so children like Emma could have permanent homes as quickly as possible.
After 1,208 days in the system, because of your support, Emma’s foster family could finally adopt her. Emma couldn’t be happier to be part of a safe, stable, and loving family.
PLEASE NOTE BEFORE READING: The names and other identifying information of the individuals portrayed were changed to protect our client’s identity.
With generous support from people like you, New Orleans became the first city in the U.S. to end homelessness for veterans in 2014. Yet, there will always be a need to ensure equal justice for all. Today, thousands of veterans in southeast Louisiana continue to “combat” life on the streets. Together, we can defend the rights of the brave men and women who served our country and ensure that they have a safe and stable home to sleep in at night.
Recently, you gave hope to a 34-year-old veteran who struggled with serious health issues and helped end his homelessness.
After leaving the U.S. Army, Mr. Leonards struggled with PTSD, depression, and several other medical conditions. Despite his illnesses, he managed to build a life for himself as a civilian and work a full-time job. Unfortunately, over time, his medical conditions got worse preventing from maintaining a job. After losing his job, Mr. Leonards was evicted.
With nowhere else to turn, Mr. Leonards slept in different homeless shelters in downtown New Orleans. When the shelters were full, he went under the overpass to sleep on the cold, hard sidewalk. Faced with the reality of having no income, no safe place to lay his head at night, and increasingly severe health problems, Mr. Leonards felt helpless and defeated. Thankfully he quickly found hope at Southeast Louisiana Legal Services (SLLS).
Within minutes of walking into our office, he met with a caring and passionate attorney who immediately opened a Social Security disability benefits case for him. SLLS also referred him to one of our partner agencies who quickly helped him obtain rental assistance so he could get off the streets.
Thanks to our advocacy, Social Security approved Mr. Leonards’ application for disability benefits in only 4 weeks (a process than typically takes 4-8 months to complete). Now that he has the economic support he needs to afford his rent, he can focus on his health.
Because of people like you, homeless veterans and people with disabilities can access critical legal help they otherwise could not afford. You have the power to defend their rights and to ensure that they can get on their feet and move forward. Thank you!
Mrs. Brown was 39 when her husband jumped on her back and threatened to kill himself in front of the kids. It was Christmas Day and four little pairs of eyes watched in terror as their father pointed a gun to his head. Sadly enough, that wasn’t the first time Mr. Brown, held a gun in front of the kids.
In 2001, the couple got married in a rural part of Louisiana. The Browns had four children together with two of them having special needs. To accommodate their new lifestyle, Mrs. Brown decided to quit her job so that she could home school the two kids with disabilities. Then the abuse started. Between the economic instability, violence and her concern for her children’s well-being, Mrs. Brown didn’t know what to do.
Since 2016, Mrs. Brown was harassed, pushed to the ground and yanked by the arms. She wore bruises on her body like they were tattoos. It seemed as though the violence would never stop. Then her husband sued for custody of her children. That’s when she finally turned to a local domestic violence shelter that provides services to survivors and was later referred to Southeast Louisiana Legal Services for help.
In the spring of 2018, an SLLS attorney jumped right in to help and defended her rights in courts. With our help, Mrs. Brown was approved to be the domiciliary parent, get $1,700 per month in child support, and have access to both the family home and the family van. Now Mrs. Brown has the security she needs to move forward and protect her family from future harm.
Recently, we’ve learned that she’s looking for a night job and is helping her oldest child think about what to do after he graduates high school. Providing survivors like Mrs. Brown with the resources they need to escape abuse and overcome their trauma is truly a rewarding experience for many of our attorneys. To anyone who’s still struggling to break the cycle of violence, know that an SLLS attorney is only a phone call away. We want to fight for you and anyone else who’s suffering in an abusive relationship.
Mr. and Mrs. Trahan lived with Mrs. Trahan’s mother in north Baton Rouge. In 2015, they inherited the house after Mrs. Trahan’s mother passed away. Although they managed to survive on a small income from Mr. Trahan’s disability benefits and Mrs. Trahan’s part-time job, they lived check-to-check and were unable to put much into savings. Tragically, Mr. and Mrs. Trahan’s house was among the +60,000 houses destroyed by the 2016 Louisiana Floods. Fortunately, they were safe but they had no savings to help them rebuild. The Trahans received short-term temporary FEMA rental assistance but on their limited income, and still needing to pay monthly mortgage payments on their home, they struggled to keep their home out of foreclosure.
To make the situation worse, the flood insurance company refused to release the flood proceeds until a succession was completed for Mrs. Trahan’s mother. Then, FEMA denied an extension of their temporary rental assistance. The Trahans felt lost. If they lost both their temporary and permanent housing, they would have nowhere to turn and end up on the streets. Luckily, they were referred to the Flood Proof Project for legal help where an SLLS attorney quickly jumped into action.
We began working on the succession right away and got some of the other heirs to donate their interest in the home to help the couple concentrate title. Then, we got FEMA to overturn its decision to deny the couples extension for temporary rental assistance. Additionally, we negotiated with their mortgage and insurance companies to assert the Trahan’s legal rights as an heir to the property. In the end, the couple was approved to take over the mortgage and modify their loan payments after the succession was completed. While the Restore Louisiana program has yet to give the Trahan’s additional funding to rebuild, all of their legal problems were resolved and given them a little more peace of mind.
Right around Christmas in 2016, Michael—a 68-year-old Vietnam War veteran who suffers from PTSD—received a notice that the lease for his affordable apartment in New Orleans was being terminated. He had lived there for seven years and paid his rent on time, with the help of a housing voucher for $789 a month. Being a model tenant, he couldn’t understand why his lease wasn’t being renewed.
Wills for heroes event Friday, September 29th at the Covington Courthouse. Stay tuned for details as to time of the event and content, or contact:
Cynthia M. Bordonaro
Attorney at Law, Pro Bono Coordinator
Southeast Louisiana Legal Services
Northshore Pro Bono Project
423 N. Florida Street
Covington, LA 70433
email: cbordonaro@slls.org
Office: 985-893-0076 x 519
Toll Free: 1-800-891-0076
Fax: 985-893-6774