5 lawyers donated pro bono time at the second annual Clallam County Project Homeless Connect, at which more than 300 people sought services.

Clallam County lawyers Steve Robbins, of the NW Justice Project, Harry Gasnick, the Clallam County Public Defender, Joe Lavin, in a private social security practice, and Kathleen McCormick and Mark Baumann, both in their own family law private practice, all donated time at the event.

For more information, see the article in the Peninsula Daily News:

http://www.peninsuladailynews.com/article/20110318/news/303189976/gathering-in-port-angeles-to-aid-homeless-draws-300

Steve Robbins said “It was very good to be there. We helped several people including some difficult eviction situations.”

Kathleen McCormick commented that “there were some challenging cases. Several people asked how they could get identification when, because of their circumstances, they had lost every form of identification they had. It would be great to have an attorney with experience on this issue next year.”

[Editor’s note: The opportunity to help people at this event and offer them a moment of compassion, respect and hope was very rewarding. It was also a wonderful chance to connect, in the slow times, with the 40 other service providers, many of whom have very little experience or understanding of the ways courts can help people, especially in the Family Court. Mark Baumann]

Project Homeless Connect will be held on Thursday, March 17, 2011, at the Vern Burton Center. Lawyers interested in volunteering their services should contact Nancy Rhode at the Pro Bono office, 417-0818.

Click here for a Project Homeless Connect information flyer 2011.

Giving is good. It releases endorphin and makes us feel better. Project Homeless Connect (PHC) is a wonderful opportunity for giving. PHC is a joint project by Serenity House and Clallam County Health and Human Services. The Clallam County Pro Bono Lawyers will host a booth with private consultation areas.

You may be wondering, “Hhow can I help or represent homeless people?” These folks generally don’t need what you might think, and what they do need turns out to be a greater gift to you of more than just giving.

For sure, some people at PHC need legal triage, have specific questions and/or need direction to further services. But most simply need someone to listen to them, someone to hear their story, empathize with them, and respect their feelings. The gift to us is an opportunity to practice our ability to listen and create a deep human connection with our clients in order for them to not feel helpless and alone. Our ability to do this makes us better lawyers and happier people.

At last year’s PHC few of the people I saw needed any specific advice. Most wanted to know that the understanding they had of their experiences were reasonable and that their feelings were not crazy. They didn’t need a lawyer to represent them, write something up, or even give them advice.

Even if you don’t know anything about landlord-tenant, mortgage, family, disability, employment, criminal, entitlement law, or about mediation or courtroom procedures, you can make a valuable contribution listening and/or screening.

Last year over 300 people sought services at PHC. For those of you who may need to print out documents a printer will be provided and online forms will be available. Attached is an Advice and Consult Agreement that may be used. To contribute your time, simply contact Nancy at Pro Bono, at 417-0818 or email [email protected].

For a summary of last year efforts, please see https://clallamcountybar.com/2010/01/29/project-homeless-connect-a-success/

Mark Baumann
[email protected]