Legal Aid and Defender Association, Inc. (LAD) has received a $10,000 grant from the Michigan State Bar Foundation (MSBF) to teach young women living in Vista Maria’s Shepherd Hall Transitional Living Program and Foster Care Programs the basics of landlord/tenant, consumer, family, criminal, education and employment law.
LAD’s Civil Law Group will also counsel and provide legal representation in civil legal matters to participants.
Vista Maria, Michigan’s largest nonprofit for girls and their families, provides support, treatment and education to vulnerable youth. Started in downtown Detroit in 1883 by five Sisters of the Good Shepherd, Vista Maria today is recognized as providing best-in-class residential and community-based treatment and therapy for girls, young women and their families.
The transitional living program offers young women who have aged out of foster care, or who are homeless, a supportive, therapeutic environment where they can overcome their past trauma and gain the skills necessary to transition to permanent housing (see http://www.vistamaria.org/ for further information).
“Vista Maria is pleased to partner with Legal Aid and Defender Association to bring this curriculum to our young female tenants,” said Karen Hall, program director of the Shepherd Hall Transitional Living Program.
According to Hall, the tenants often pose questions to staff about how to maintain good credit and how to secure affordable housing. “Our goal is to provide the young ladies with opportunities to gain the necessary skills and knowledge, and to make positive social connections so that they are better prepared to transition to permanent housing and self-sufficiency,” she said.
MSBF awarded the grant as part of its Administration of Justice Program. Under its terms, LAD will develop a curriculum using information from Michigan Legal Help (http://michiganlegalhelp.org/) that can be replicated by other organizations, according to Regina Daniels Thomas, deputy chief counsel-broad based advocacy for LAD’s Civil Law Group.
“This is an opportunity for LAD to impact the lives of youth in our service area who are navigating the sometimes bumpy road to adulthood and improve their chances at success,” Thomas said.
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