Since 1979, offers free civil legal, advocacy and community education in 22 parishes from 6 offices. Largest provider of free civil legal aid in Louisiana.
Organization website
Primary geographic focus: Louisiana
Organization type(s): Provider
Acronym or short name: SLLS
Lists: LSC
SLLS is Louisiana’s largest provider of free civil legal aid.
SLLS serves half of Louisiana’s low-income people. In many areas of our 22-parish service area SLLS is the only organization that can help. In 2015 SLLS helped more than 26,000 people, with an economic impact of more than $17.5 million. For our clients, having an SLLS lawyer can prevent loss of family, food, shelter, income, medical care, or personal safety.
SLLS began in 1979 with a grant from the Legal Services Corporation. Back then, SLLS gave legal help to poor people in five north shore parishes. In 2003 SLLS merged with New Orleans Legal Assistance Corporation, which served the greater New Orleans area since 1967. The service area grew to 10 Louisiana Parishes. In recent years SLLS more than doubled its footprint with 12 new parishes. The program now serves greater Baton Rouge, Houma and their adjacent communities. SLLS spreads its reach even further through programs like medical-legal partnerships in community health clinics, on site legal services at community colleges, services offered through homeless assistance centers, and services linked to domestic violence shelters.
SLLS received the inaugural Innovation in Civil Legal Services Delivery Award in 2015, conferred by the Access to Justice Committee of the Louisiana State Bar Association. Our sustained excellence earned SLLS the 2015 A.P. Tureaud Award from the Louis A. Martinet Legal Society, Inc. (Baton Rouge).
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News StoryBaton Rouge Area Foundation offers program to help disaster relief
Christopher MobleyLouisiana Record
January 20, 2017
After the disastrous flooding last August in Louisiana, more than 2,500 victims were denied relief by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, according to a news release.
News Story
American Can’s low-income residents to be evicted, but granted until October to clear out
Chad CalderAdvocate (Baton Rouge, LA)
February 1, 2017
Wednesday's announcement gives the affected tenants seven more months to find somewhere else to live, as well as access to housing counselors and a relocation stipend.
News Story
Legal aid for Louisiana poor on chopping block in Trump’s budget
Richard RaineyTimes-Picayune (New Orleans, LA)
April 3, 2017
For one of the most impoverished states in the country, President Donald Trump's budget proposal could put even greater distance between a lawyer and Louisiana's poor.
News Story
Trump wants to cut off poor people’s legal lifeline
Bryce CovertThinkProgress
April 6, 2017
Without legal aid, there will be little assistance for those facing eviction, domestic violence, or huge amounts of debt.
Feature
Making the Right Connections
Katy ReckdahlShelterforce
April 21, 2017
A health center in New Orleans has partnered with a legal services agency to better help patients by addressing the social determinants of health. This “medical-legal partnership” is part of a growing trend that’s taking place across the nation.
Feature
Attorney for beleagured New Orleans renters fights uphill battle
Kevin LittenTimes-Picayune (New Orleans, LA)
April 21, 2017
Adams is one of just a few advocates in New Orleans who sees the squalor many New Orleans residents live in every day.
Interview
SLLS executive director says legal help is an ‘often overlooked solution’ for homeless veterans
Angela UnderwoodLouisiana Record
March 21, 2018
Veterans accounted for around 10 percent of all homeless individuals in Louisiana, according to 2016 data from an annual Housing Urban Development (HUD) report.
Letter to Editor
Many veterans need legal help but can’t afford it
Laura TuggleTimes-Picayune (New Orleans, LA)
July 6, 2018
The most popular answer from veterans around the country, including here in Louisiana, may surprise you: They need civil legal aid. They asked for lawyers to help resolve court fines, prevent eviction, restore suspended driver's licenses and handle child support issues.
News Story
Low-income housing advocates demand stop to American Can evictions
Katherine SayreTimes-Picayune (New Orleans, LA)
December 22, 2016
New Orleans housing advocates called Thursday (Dec. 22) for a real estate developer to stop evicting low-income renters at the American Can Co. apartment building in Mid-City.
News Story
Low-income residents being ousted from New Orleans’ American Can Co. affordable-housing complex
Katherine SayreTimes-Picayune (New Orleans, LA)
December 20, 2016
With the complex's affordable-housing agreement set to expire in January, Esnault and dozens of other residents have been told to clear out.
News Story
From boots on the ground to suits on the ground, flood relief now revolves around clearing titles for lower-income residents
Steve HardyAdvocate (Baton Rouge, LA)
November 30, 2016
Thousands of flooded families across the Baton Rouge area are getting hung up on legal technicalities before they can even submit an application to receive their federal assistance.
Audio , Interview
Louisiana Residents Request Free Legal Aid In Flood Recovery Efforts
Ari ShapiroNational Public Radio (NPR)
November 2, 2016
In the two months since historic floods hit the greater Baton Rouge, La., area, recovery has begun. There has also been an increase in requests for free legal aid.
News Story
The Waters Have Receded From Baton Rouge. Now Comes The Hard Part.
Bryce CovertThinkProgress
August 31, 2016
Even though the water receded only a few days after the storm hit, some of the biggest problems for the area are only just beginning.
News Story
After Baton Rouge Flooding, Learning Lessons From New Orleans
Campbell Robertson, Alan BlinderNew York Times (NYT)
August 22, 2016
Those lessons include how to get money most efficiently from the federal government and ways to avoid leaving thousands of people for years in temporary shelters, like the notorious Federal Emergency Management Agency trailers, as the rebuilding proceeds.
News Story
Zika could hit people in poverty hardest
Liz SzaboUSA Today
July 2, 2016
If Zika spreads in the United States, Americans who live in substandard housing and neglected neighborhoods could face the greatest danger, particularly along the Gulf Coast.
Feature
Medicaid expands, ERs brace, Ernest Burrell prays
Richard RaineyTimes-Picayune (New Orleans, LA)
June 10, 2016
In days, Louisiana will become the 31st state -- the first in the Deep South -- to expand its Medicaid program to insure residents with yearly incomes below 138 percent of the federal poverty line.
News Story
New Orleans apartments tried to evict domestic violence victim
Richard A. WebsterTimes-Picayune (New Orleans, LA)
October 27, 2015
For the first time, a new Louisiana law has been used to protect a survivor from losing her home based on violence against her.
News Story
These New Orleans Residents Are Still Trying To Go Home
Bryce CovertThinkProgress
August 29, 2015
In the decade after Katrina, many residents have rebuilt destroyed homes; others have decided to relocate elsewhere. Yet there are still plenty of people who are still trying to return home.
Blog Post
Civil Legal Aid Must Play a Larger Role in Disaster Recovery
Laura TuggleTalkPoverty.org
August 27, 2015
Civil legal aid is an underappreciated model for how we should react to future disasters.
Op-Ed
After a Disaster Like Katrina, Water, Food, and Shelter Are Not Enough
Laura TuggleNation, The
August 27, 2015
Providing access to expert civil legal help is absolutely essential to rebuilding communities and lives after a disaster.
Feature
A Rental Named Desire
Catherine DunnInternational Business Times (IB Times)
August 27, 2015
When the levees broke, the floodwaters stripped away much of New Orleans' most affordable rental housing. A decade later, people like Desi Grimes are still struggling to find a home.
News Story
The Justice Gap
Katy ReckdahlShelterforce
August 24, 2015
If you care about equity, civil legal aid belongs high on the list of crucial disaster recovery programs.
Audio
After Katrina, New Orleans’ Public Housing Is A Mix Of Pastel And Promises
Pam FesslerKQED Radio (NPR) (Northern California)
August 17, 2015
Public housing remains a mixed bag ten years after Katrina.
Audio , News Story
After Katrina, New Orleans’ Public Housing Is A Mix Of Pastel And Promises
Pam FesslerNational Public Radio (NPR)
August 17, 2015
At the time of Katrina, more than 5,000 families lived in public housing; today, there are only 1,900.
Op-Ed
We don’t need fewer lawyers. We need cheaper ones.
Martha BergmarkWashington Post
June 2, 2015
Unable to afford representation, more Americans are going to court alone, and they're losing. An opinion piece by Voices for Civil Justice Executive Director Martha Bergmark.
This page last modified: Thu, January 12, 2017 -- 1:41 pm ET