For Immediate Release, February 15, 2023

Contact:

Laura Tuggle, ltuggle@slls.org, 504.913.6617

Over 60 Nonprofit Groups Call On FEMA to Extend the February Deadline for Hurricane Ida Disaster Assistance and Appeals

236,000+ Louisiana households are awaiting FEMA aid decisions as deadline looms

NEW ORLEANS — The Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Individuals and Households Program (IHP) will stop accepting appeals and providing financial assistance for Hurricane Ida on Feb. 28, 2023, despite the fact that, according to FEMA’s own records, there is still no decision on over 236,000 Louisianan household’s applications for assistance.

FEMA has not issued a press release or any public notification of the looming deadline.

In response, over 60 voluntary, faith-based, community, philanthropic and national advocacy organizations have issued letters to President Biden, FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell, the Louisiana Congressional Delegation and Governor John Bel Edwards, requesting an extension of the deadline to allow disaster-affected households time to submit appeals to FEMA.

“Hurricane Ida was the fifth costliest hurricane in U.S. history, and Louisianans continue to struggle to recover,” said Laura Tuggle, Executive Director of Southeast Louisiana Legal Services. “As nonprofits, we are on the ground, working directly with people in affected communities. We are partners that stand behind FEMA’s equity goals and are uniquely positioned to help identify the invisible roadblocks that Louisianans are experiencing as they try to access assistance. Due to our intimate knowledge of the barriers to recovery, we know nothing will go further to producing equitable outcomes among the people of our state than an extension of the IHP period of assistance and appeals deadline.”

Louisianans have faced significant barriers to applying for assistance since Hurricane Ida for a variety of reasons, including:

• In 2021, Louisiana’s poverty rate was the highest in the nation at 19.65%.
• The remote, rural areas that Hurricane Ida hit have low educational attainment levels.
• FEMA relies heavily on written correspondence, which directly impacts Louisianans’ ability to access disaster assistance in a state with a literacy rate of 84% in 2023.
• Providing the necessary FEMA documentation requires adults to be technology-proficient in areas without broadband access, which prevents rural residents, older adults, people with disabilities, people with limited English proficiency, low-income households and others - from acting in their own best interest.
• Survivors must fax information to National Processing Service Centers or upload it into FEMA’s antiquated NEMIS system, which makes documents illegible due to excessive pixelization. This triggers repeated requests for documents that survivors think they have submitted (which were legible on their end).
• Homeownership documentation was destroyed in the storm or is lacking due to heirship property issues which take time and legal assistance to resolve.
• There is a severe lack of contractors to provide the estimates that are required for homeowners to submit appeals.
• The COVID-19 pandemic prevented FEMA inspectors from entering people's homes, resulting in inaccurate damage assessments and the need for a second inspection.
• The closure of Disaster Recovery Centers in Louisiana on February 25, 2022, made it more difficult for survivors to get the help they needed when applying for assistance.
• Many homeowners still have unresolved insurance claims and cannot submit settlement documentation and declaration pages to receive FEMA awards.
• The Restore Louisiana Homeowner Assistance Program recently began processing applications. To be eligible, applicants must have received either $8,000 in home repair funds or $3,500 in personal property assistance from FEMA.

Because FEMA has not provided the public with formal written notice of the deadline through the media, Louisianans are not ready for the cessation of IHP financial assistance or the loss of their ability to appeal previous FEMA decisions denying them assistance. Without a deadline extension, Hurricane Ida survivors will experience growing levels of financial instability, making Louisiana and its residents even more vulnerable to future storms.

By comparison, on Jan. 24, 2023, FEMA published a press release identifying the March 10, 2023, deadline for Hurricane Ida survivors in Pennsylvania.

A 90-day extension beyond the Feb. 28, 2023 deadline would allow survivors time to obtain FEMA resources which are required to be eligible for the Restore Louisiana Program. An inability to appeal FEMA decisions not only prevents access to FEMA assistance but will also bar access to the state’s housing recovery program.

We are grateful the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness (GOHSEP) shares our common desire to change negative recovery outcomes that disproportionately affect underserved communities. We are aware that GOHSEP requested the exact same extension of FEMA’s Individuals and Households Program (IHP) after Hurricane Laura, and were met with a denial of their request. We stand with our state officials in support of their equity goals and we seek a different outcome for Ida’s request - one that extends the deadline by at least 90 days. The enormous number of people in Louisiana whose needs are still unmet must be everyone’s greatest priority.

“This is a life or death situation for Louisiana’s people,” added Tuggle. “FEMA has an opportunity to make good on its equity goals by extending the February 28 deadline and providing a notification period before the deadline to account for the unique challenges of our state’s Hurricane Ida survivors.”

See the full list of partner signatories here.

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About Southeast Louisiana Legal Services

Southeast Louisiana Legal Services (SLLS) fights for fairness in the justice system. It provides free, civil legal aid to low-income people in six offices, across 22 parishes in southeast Louisiana. Our six offices are located in Baton Rouge, Covington, Hammond, Harvey, Houma, and New Orleans. Our mission is to achieve justice for low-income people in Louisiana by enforcing and defending their legal rights through free legal representation, advocacy, and community education. For more information about SLLS, visit www.slls.org and follow us on Facebook (@SLLShelps).

“Lawyers have a license to practice law, a monopoly on certain services. But for that privilege and status, lawyers have an obligation to provide legal services to those without the wherewithal to pay, to respond to needs outside themselves, to help repair tears in their communities.” – U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg (March 2014)

Are you an attorney (either currently practicing or retired) in East Feliciana, Iberville, Pointe Coupee, St James, St John, or West Feliciana?  Southeast Louisiana Legal Services (SLLS) would like to speak with you about opportunities to volunteer and/or create a partnership with you to bring legal services to those who need it most.

Southeast Louisiana Legal Services (SLLS) fights for fairness for vulnerable people. We provide free, civil legal aid to low-income people in six offices, across 22 parishes throughout southeast Louisiana. Our six offices are located in Baton Rouge, Covington, Gretna, Hammond, Houma, and New Orleans. Everyday we:

• protect domestic violence victims,
• empower abused and neglected children by giving them a voice in their lives and the courtroom,
• preserve housing for hard-working families,
• end homelessness for people with disabilities and veterans,
• protect elderly consumers,
• remove barriers to access medical care,
• improve access to employment and education for vulnerable people,
• and so much more.

No matter what challenges our communities face, we work every day to increase access to justice and help vulnerable people clear life's legal hurdles.  But we can’t do it alone and that’s why we need your help.  To find out more information, please contact Cindy Horne, CP at 225-448-0080, ext. 302 or by email at chorne@slls.org or Douglas Carey at 504-529-1000, ext. 246 or by email at dcarey@slls.org.  Our website can also be found at www.SLLS.org.

“Our society has major unmet legal needs that adversely affect low and middle income families. It’s a situation that threatens the well-being of our democracy. According to California’s Business and Professions Code, lawyers should ‘Never to reject, for any consideration personal to himself or herself, the cause of the defenseless or the oppressed.’ The entire legal professional has an opportunity to address this crisis.” – Chief Justice Tani G. Cantil-Sakauye (October 2014)

Brief Overview

Southeast Louisiana Legal Services (SLLS) seeks the services of a technology consultant to assist in using publicly available data and technology to improve the way that SLLS coordinates its outreach efforts. The disaster data-driven outreach project involves two components: (1) the development of a disaster data dashboard, and (2) designing a more efficient, technology-enabled business process for coordinating outreach by staff and volunteers.  This project will provide the data needed to create a robust outreach strategy to increase disaster victims’ awareness of and access to SLLS services.

Introduction to SLLS

SLLS provides free legal assistance to indigent and other vulnerable people who cannot afford to hire a lawyer. We protect their livelihoods, health, housing and families. Through legal representation, we are able to assure fairness for our clients as they navigate through the civil justice system. SLLS works to combat the inequities and disproportionate impacts faced by marginalized communities of color. We are the largest nonprofit civil legal services provider in Louisiana serving 50% of the state’s poverty population in twenty-two parishes across southeast Louisiana. Pre-pandemic, Louisiana had the third highest poverty rate in the United States, the second highest rate of women killed by their intimate partner, the highest rate of mass incarceration in the world disproportionately impacting marginalized communities, was consistently noted as one of the unhealthiest states, and had the second highest rate of food insecure seniors. We have been struck by ten presidentially declared natural disasters since 2005’s catastrophic Hurricane Katrina, the BP Oil Spill, and the people we serve have been particularly hard-hit by the impact of COVID-19 due to our economic reliance on the hospitality and oil and gas industries and Hurricane Ida.

Pre-pandemic, SLLS had about 100 team members on staff. We now have about 165 staff working from seven offices, staff embedded onsite with other partners such as hospitals, medical clinics, homeless shelters, domestic violence victim service centers, community colleges, and robust pro bono partnerships. We have almost 100 different funding sources though LSC funding is about 45% of our budget with another almost 30% from the Louisiana Bar Foundation.

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS

Purpose of RFP

SLLS seeks an independent technology consultant to assist in creating a streamlined technology solution for accessing all publicly available FEMA and Census data to guide SLLS outreach post-disaster. The consultant will also design and implement an efficient, technology-enabled business process for staff and volunteers to coordinate outreach services using the technology solution.

Deliverables

In this two-pronged role, the consultant we are seeking will have primary responsibility for creating a streamlined technology solution for accessing publicly available data to guide SLLS outreach efforts. The consultant will then assist SLLS in designing and implementing a business process for staff and volunteers to effectively utilize the solution and coordinate their efforts.

Disaster Data Dashboard

The consultant will have primary responsibility for creating a technology solution for accessing and compiling all public data supporting disaster outreach. We are seeking a geographic information services (GIS) dashboard combining publicly available FEMA and Census/ACS data to guide SLLS decision-making on outreach efforts post-disaster.

FEMA provides API services for data related to its Individuals and Households Program (IHP). Updated daily, this data includes the following fields by zip code and disaster that can support a more targeted outreach strategy: number of FEMA applications, number of valid FEMA applications, number of applications found “eligible” for the IHP, Housing Assistance, and Other Needs Assistance programs, number of inspections issued, and open DRC locations. Combining these FEMA data services with other community data on disabilities, homeownership and renter-ship, and other relevant demographics can help SLLS identify particularly vulnerable areas of need.

Other important data on the number of FEMA denials and reasons for denials is not readily available. Therefore, part of this project may also include advocating for those additional data sets to be shared, in order to help legal aid partners more accurately assess needs and identify disparities in recovery. Once developed, this data dashboard can be used by all legal aid organizations across Louisiana.

Outreach Business Process Improvement

Once the data solution is developed, the consultant will then assist SLLS in designing and implementing a business process for staff and volunteers to effectively utilize the solution to coordinate their efforts. This portion of the project will focus on improving the way SLLS staff members coordinate outreach efforts among themselves and volunteers. Currently, the work to coordinate staff and volunteer attendance at regularly scheduled and stand-alone outreach events is time consuming and inefficient. Largely relying on email, staff can lose track of who is set to go where in the flurry of post-disaster outreach events.

In tandem with the disaster data dashboard, a more streamlined coordination and scheduling process will reduce frustration among staff and improve the way we conduct outreach in the aftermath of natural disasters. We seek a consultant who can thoughtfully design, implement, and train SLLS staff in an efficient, technology-enabled business process for utilizing the data dashboard and coordinating and scheduling staff and volunteer disaster outreach activities.

Proposal Requirements

SLLS seeks proposals in this matter that do not exceed five pages inclusive of three references.  We request that all proposals include information on the applicable experience of the potential consultant especially in technology consultation work for comparable non-profit organizations.

Cost

Interested consultants can submit a cost proposal on an hourly rate with an estimate of hours needed to complete tasks or by using a project-based method. Please propose a payment schedule for your work under the project. Finally, SLLS requests that all candidates are prepared to provide a proposed contract for this project.

Inquiries/Contact Information

Questions about this RFP may be directed to Laura Tuggle, SLLS Executive Director, at (504) 529-1000 ext. 270 or ltuggle@slls.org

Timeline

• Issue RFP: 1/27/2023
• Proposals Due: 2/19/2023
• Award of Contract: On or by 2/28/2023
• Project Implementation: 3/1/2023-6/30/2023 (May Be Extended as Needed)

Proposal Delivery and Due Date

Proposals are due on or before 2/19/2023.  Delivery of proposals should be made electronically to Heidi Bergeron at hbergeron@whiteoakconsult.com with “SLLS Disaster Data-Driven Outreach Project” in the subject line, pdf preferred.  If you have large file size items, please provide a file sharing link with instructions for accessing the proposed materials

Evaluation Criteria and Award of Contract

SLLS may elect to schedule a conference call with potential consultants prior to awarding a final contract. Please include contact information for scheduling purposes in the RFP.

Proposals will be evaluated upon the contractor’s responsiveness to the RFP, qualifications, demonstrated experience with similar projects, and total price quoted for all items covered by the RFP. Award of the contract resulting from the RFP will be based upon the most responsive contract that is most advantageous to SLLS in terms of cost, functionality, experience, and quality of past work.

SLLS ideally seeks a firm that understands its needs as a nonprofit and legal services organization and is invested in our missions of achieving justice and social change by fighting poverty.

SLLS reserves the right to accept or reject any and all proposals and to waive any minor discrepancies or technicalities in the proposal or specifications, when deemed to be in the best interest of SLLS. We also reserve the right to negotiate with all respondents to the RFP and reject any or all offers and discontinue this RFP process without obligation or liability to any respondent.

Cost of Proposals

SLLS will not pay any costs associated with preparing proposals in response to this RFP.

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS - Disaster Legal Services Project & Adult Learning Content Developer Consultant

Brief Overview

Southeast Louisiana Legal Services (SLLS) seeks the services of an independent project consultant to assist it in supervising our recently awarded almost $6.5 million three year Disaster Legal Services (DLS) grant from the Legal Services Corporation. This work also includes a subcomponent with primary responsibility for creating content working with our staff for our Adult Learning Management System and to implement our new Adult Learning Management System. The goals of our DLS project and our subcomponent project is to provide high quality legal assistance to disaster survivors and to help better prepare SLLS to respond to disasters.

Introduction to SLLS

SLLS provides free legal assistance to indigent and other vulnerable people who cannot afford to hire a lawyer. We protect their livelihoods, health, housing and families. Through legal representation, we are able to assure fairness for our clients as they navigate through the civil justice system. SLLS works to combat the inequities and disproportionate impacts faced by marginalized communities of color.

SLLS is the largest nonprofit civil legal services provider in Louisiana serving 50% of the state’s poverty population in twenty-two parishes across southeast Louisiana. Pre-pandemic, Louisiana had the third highest poverty rate in the United States, the second highest rate of women killed by their intimate partner, the highest rate of mass incarceration in the world disproportionately impacting marginalized communities, was consistently noted as one of the unhealthiest states, and had the second highest rate of food insecure seniors. We have been struck by ten presidentially declared natural disasters since 2005’s catastrophic Hurricane Katrina, the BP Oil Spill, and the people we serve have been particularly hard-hit by the impact of COVID-19 due to our economic reliance on the hospitality and oil and gas industries and Hurricane Ida.

During the COVID-19 pandemic and in the wake of Ida, SLLS has fought for the rights of vulnerable people who lost their jobs due to the pandemic, provided safeguards to domestic violence survivors, protected the livelihood of disaster victims and assisted renters who were facing eviction.  SLLS has won significant appellate cases protecting thousands of vulnerable people through eviction defense and child in need of care work, and engaging in successful policy advocacy with government agencies administering housing assistance, child protection programs, and unemployment benefits. Our 2021 case work for individual households resulted in over 30,000 people being helped through free legal aid to protect their lives, homes, and families with a direct economic impact to them through our work of over $28.5 million.

Pre-pandemic, SLLS had about 100 team members on staff. Since COVID, we have grown to have almost 175 employees, seven offices, staff embedded onsite with other partners such as hospitals, medical clinics, homeless shelters, domestic violence victim service centers, community colleges, and robust pro bono partnerships. We have almost 100 different funding sources though LSC funding is about 45% of our budget with another almost 30% from the Louisiana Bar Foundation. In response to the effects of COVID-19 on housing, we have hired 14 additional attorneys to represent people who are facing eviction and 15 new staff to represent vulnerable populations affected by natural disasters.

Request for Proposals

Purpose of RFP

SLLS seeks an independent project consultant to participate in the management of SLLS’s Disaster Legal Services grant and to assist in developing training resources for staff.  SLLS understands the importance of analyzing and adapting our resources to fit the needs of our growing organization. Our goal is to improve SLLS’s ability to respond to the legal needs of disaster survivors and to better prepare the agency to respond to future disasters internally and as part of our broader statewide civil legal aid justice community.

Deliverables

In this two pronged role, the consultant we are seeking will assist SLLS in managing our DLS Project and will have primary responsibility for our Adult Learning Content Development (ALCD) Project as a subcomponent of our DLS Project. We expect the selected consultant will need to dedicate significantly more time to accomplishing our project plan goals during the first 12 months of the project with the level of effort being significantly less during 2024 and by 2025 minimal work to be done. The rationale for this is that as the major deliverables under the contract are achieved, the work effort needed to supervise and implement the project will be less.

Disaster Legal Services (DLS) Project

In the DLS role, the consultant will provide general supervision, diligent monitoring, and reporting on the usage of SLLS’ DLS grant to ensure that it aligns with our grant performance plan. The full performance plan with tasks already completed to date is attached to this Request for Proposal as Attachment A. The consultant will have primary responsibility for issuing, coordinating, implementing, and supervising Goal 2, Objective 1, Milestone 8 regarding SLLS’ Adult Learning Management System described in more detail in the next section and Goal 3, Objective 3, Milestones 1-4 to help SLLS create an outreach plan using media and to secure a technology consultant to ensure disaster survivors have access to legal services. The selected consultant for the instant RFP will report directly to the Executive Director regarding progress on the DLS Project general oversight, supervision, and progress on deliverables.

All decisions pertaining to the management of the grant are rooted in and reflective of the Goals, Objectives, and Milestones agreed upon by SLLS and LSC. The grant term of our project is 7/1/2022-6/30/2025. The goals and objectives of the DLS project are below which our detailed Project Plan referenced in Attachment A fleshes out in more detail.

DLS Goals and Objectives:

• Provide advice and legal representation to address disaster-related legal issues for low-income survivors.
  • Direct Services –Sustain and Increase Level of Direct Assistance through 30 essential disaster response staff
  • Provide training and support to disaster staff to facilitate their skills and ability to deliver direct legal assistance to disaster survivors
• Enhance legal aid capabilities to better serve survivors of 2020-2021 declared disasters.
  • Improve SLLS’ disaster resilience through improved technology and software
  • Transition SLLS’ current case management system to a new case management system to better serve 2020-2021 disaster survivors
• To provide outreach and education to the survivors of the 2020-2021 declared disasters.
  • Outreach and Community Education – Expand outreach and knowledge for survivors of the 2020 and 2021 disasters
  • Improve SLLS’ intake/outreach process to better serve disaster survivors.
  • Develop and implement an outreach plan using media and technology to ensure disaster survivors have access to legal services.

Adult Learning Content Developer (ALCD)

In the ALCD subcomponent of the DLS Project, the consultant will identify, collect, revise, create, design, test, and integrate resources into SLLS’ Learn Upon Learning Management System working in close collaboration with in-house staff subject matter experts (SME). This  work involves breaking down often complex concepts into fundamental pieces and weaving them into engaging learning segments to create learning modules that are easily understood and digested for use by legal aid staff and partners. Major duties in this subcomponent include:

• Establish and maintain collaborative working relationships with staff, volunteers, and other key stakeholders
• Facilitate engagement with stakeholders from multiple sectors and audiences
• Coordinate resources and helping design learning pathways for the learning management system such as videos, power points, graphic design tools, and other resources
• Work with SLLS staff to implement a testing and evaluation period for LMS resources
• Collaborate closely and professionally with SME’s to ensure they provide content in a timely fashion and/or work with SME’s to revise already created content
• Work with our LMS vendor to address and resolve any LMS issues
• Implement instructional design best practices to create/revise SME content into well-organized, bite-sized chunks with the adult learner at the center
• Create appropriate interactions in each lesson/module to keep staff engaged while learning for retention
• Convene planning meetings with necessary SLLS staff and partners
• Collect documentation for the project
• Assisting in preparing a project plan and grant progress reports
• Assist in making presentations to SLLS staff, volunteers, and partners as needed

Reporting Deadlines for DLS Grant

Progress and fiscal reports are due to the funder on the below schedule:

Reporting Period 7/1/2022-12/31/2022  -  Due 1/31/2023

Reporting Period 1/1/2023-6/30/2023    -  Due 7/31/2023

Reporting Period 7/1/2023-12/31/2023  -  Due 1/31/2024

Reporting Period 1/1/2024 – 6/30/2024  - Due 7/31/2024

Reporting Period 7/1/2024- 12/31/2024  - Due 1/31/2025

Reporting Period 1/1/2025-6/30/2025     - Due 7/31/2025

Cost

Interested consultants can submit a cost proposal on an hourly rate with an estimate of hours needed to complete tasks or by using a project based method. Please propose a payment schedule for your work under the project.

Inquiries/Contact Information

Questions about this RFP may be directed Laura Tuggle, SLLS Executive Director at (504) 529-1000 ext. 270 or ltuggle@slls.org.

Timeline

• Issue RFP: 9/26/2022
• Proposals Due to Executive Director: 10/23/2022
• Award of Contract: 11/1/2022
• Project Implementation: 11/01/2022-6/30/2025

Proposal Delivery and Due Date

Proposals are due on or before 10/26/2022. Delivery of proposals should be made electronically to Laura Tuggle at ltuggle@slls.org with “SLLS “DLS & ALCD Proposal” in the subject line. PDF is preferred. If you have large file size items, please provide a file sharing link with instructions for accessing the proposed materials.

Evaluation Criteria and Award of Contract

SLLS may elect to schedule a conference call with potential consultants prior to awarding a final contract. We anticipate conference calls will be scheduled between 10/25-10/26/2022. Please include contact information for scheduling purposes in the RFP.

Proposals will be evaluated upon the contractor’s responsiveness to the RFP, qualifications, demonstrated experience with similar projects, and total price quoted for all items covered by the RFP. Award of the contract resulting from the RFP will be based upon the most responsive contract that is most advantageous to SLLS in terms of cost, functionality, experience, and quality of past work.

SLLS ideally seeks a firm that understands its needs as a nonprofit and legal services organization and is invested in our mission of achieving justice and social change by fighting poverty.

SLLS reserves the right to accept or reject any and all proposals and to waive any minor discrepancies or technicalities in the proposal or specifications, when deemed to be in the best interest of SLLS. We also reserve the right to negotiate with all respondents to the RFP and reject any or all offers and discontinue this RFP process without obligation or liability to any respondent.

Cost of Proposals

SLLS will not pay any costs associated with preparing proposals in response to this RFP.

You can download this Request for Proposals here.

We are pleased to present you the 2021 Southeast Louisiana Legal Services (SLLS) annual report. Every year, we reflect back on the difference our work makes in the daily lives of the people and communities we serve. The devastating impact of Hurricane Ida on our clients has made our work more important than ever. With lessons learned from Hurricane Katrina and the 10 presidentially declared disasters that followed, we hit the ground running providing critical legal aid in some of the hardest hit areas through community-based disaster legal clinics. To date we have helped over 4,000 people but the recovery process is far from over. Your support has made an incredible difference in making sure the most vulnerable people are not left behind in the recovery process. We are grateful for your leadership in the fight for fairness.
In 2021, SLLS delivered legal help in individual cases to over 14,000 households composed of over 31,000 people. The economic impact of our work topped $28.5 million. Every dollar invested in civil legal aid generated nearly $9.18 of social return on investment. Some results have no price tag, such as lives saved through our work with domestic violence victims or children protected from abuse. Thousands more Louisianans benefitted from our policy advocacy work fighting for equity such as in the rollout of COVID-19 and Hurricane Ida relief programs. Thousands of people obtained vital legal information from our SLLS website blog about hot topics like how to fight contractor fraud, appeal your FEMA claim, and other urgent recovery matters. Pro bono attorneys and volunteer law students helped us expand the availability of legal aid throughout our twenty-two parish service area.

On behalf of the clients we serve and the team at SLLS, thank you again for your staunch support. It means more now than ever. We hope this report is useful in helping you learn more about how your investment in justice is making an impact. For more frequent updates about our work, like us on Face Book. Or you can always call (504) 529-1000 ext. 270 or email me at ltuggle@slls.org to talk about our program. Thank you again for helping us help others.

Sincerely,

Laura Tuggle
Executive Director

For Immediate Release
Date: March 25, 2022
Contact: Laura Tuggle, ltuggle@slls.org, 504-529-1000 x 270

New Orleans Attorney Named President of Southeast Louisiana Legal Services Board of Directors

Lauren Bridges, a New Orleans attorney with Liskow & Lewis, has been named as the 2022 President of the Southeast Louisiana Legal Services (SLLS) Board of Directors. Bridges serves on the Board as a representative of the Jefferson Parish Bar Association.

“For over 50 years, SLLS as an organization has done so much wonderful work for the community in providing increased access to justice for all, and I want to do what I can to help continue this mission and spread awareness about the organization,” said Bridges. “I feel so lucky for this opportunity to work alongside such a dynamic and hard-working team and Board. We are all still navigating a new normal after Covid, and the need for civil legal aid on issues facing our community continues to be in great demand—including eviction, foreclosure, domestic violence, and assistance for veterans and abused/neglected children, just to name a few.”

Other recently appointed officers include: Vice President Vivian B. Guillory, attorney Baton Rouge Bar Association; Assistant Vice President Emma Dixon, retired, Washington Parish NAACP; Secretary Christopher Ralston, attorney, Phelps Dunbar; Treasurer Ryan Ours, attorney, Entergy; Assistant Treasurer Regina Joseph, representing Jefferson Parish CAP Agency.

The remaining members of the Board of Directors are: Lila Arsan, retired, Lafourche Community Action; Mary Barrios, Law Office of Mark Heck Barrios, LLC; Camille Bryant, McGlinchey Stafford, PLLC; Kerrie Hart, Southeast Spouse Abuse Program; Teresa King, Teresa King, Esquire, LLC; Brandt Lorio, Sedgwick Claims Management Services, Inc.; Warren McKenna, III, The McKenna Firm; Dorric Middleton, Capital Area Agency on Aging; Paul Tabary, Tabary & Borne, LLC; Michael Victorian, Phelps Dunbar; Claudette Warren, City-Wide Tenant Council.

About Southeast Louisiana Legal Services
Southeast Louisiana Legal Services (SLLS) fights for fairness in the justice system. It provides free, civil legal aid to low-income people in six offices, across 22 parishes in southeast Louisiana. Our six offices are located in Baton Rouge, Covington, Hammond, Harvey, Houma, and New Orleans. Our mission is to achieve justice for low-income people in Louisiana by enforcing and defending their legal rights through free legal representation, advocacy, and community education. For more information about SLLS, visit www.slls.org and follow us on Facebook (@SLLShelps).

SLLS is seeking proposals for professional consulting services for a technology and cybersecurity assessment and audit. The consultant will:

• Complete a technology assessment and audit for SLLS operations. 
• Complete an information technology (IT) assessment and security audit for SLLS’ operations. 
• Deliver a report with the vendor/consultant’s findings and recommendations. 
• Help SLLS develop an implementation plan and relevant information technology practices and policies in response to the recommendations and findings of the assessments and IT security audit. 

This Request for Proposal is made possible from a grant from the Legal Services Corporation Technology Initiative Grant. The estimated upper limit for the vendor portion of this project is $29,495. 

The deadline for submissions of proposals is Monday, March 7, 2022 by 6:00 PM Eastern/5:00PM Central. 

You can view the full request for proposals here.

For questions, please contact:
Lisa J. Stansky
Technology Initiatives and Special Projects Manager Southeast Louisiana Legal Services
lstansky@slls.org
504.529.1000 ext. 279 

We are pleased to send you the 2020 Southeast Louisiana Legal Services (SLLS) annual report. Every year, we reflect back on the difference our work makes in the daily lives of the people and communities we serve. The devastating impact of the pandemic on our clients has made our work more important than ever. COVID-19 has presented SLLS with its biggest in challenge yet in creating new and innovative programs to meet the surge in demand to prevent evictions, to stop foreclosues, to combat domestic violence, untangle unemployment benefits, and more. Your support has made an incredible difference in all that we do to stabilize vulnerable families. We are grateful for your leadership in the fight for fairness.

In 2020, SLLS delivered legal help in individual cases to over 14,000 households composed of over 25,000 people. The economic impact of our work topped $22 million. Every dollar invested in civil legal aid generated nearly $9.18 of social return on investment. Some results have no price tag, such as lives saved through our work with domestic violence victims or children protected from abuse. Thousands more Louisianans benefitted from our policy advocacy work fighting for equity such as in the rollout of COVID-19 relief programs. Over 725,000 people obtained vital legal information from our SLLS websiste blog about hot topics like stimulus checks, pandemic unemployment, eviction moratoria, advance child care tax credits, and other urgent matters. Pro bono attorneys and volunteer law students helped us expand the availability of legal aid throughout our twenty-two parish service area.

On behalf of the clients we serve and the team at SLLS, thank you again for your staunch support. It means more now than ever. We hope this report is useful in helping you learn more about how your investment in justice is making an impact. For more frequent updates about our work, like us on Face Book. Or you can always call (504) 529-1000 ext. 270 or email me at ltuggle@slls.org to talk about our program. Thank you again for helping us help others.

Sincerely,

Laura Tuggle
Executive Director