The Justice Report |
Spring 2010 |
A QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER FROM THE ARKANSAS ACCESS TO JUSTICE COMMISSION |
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IN THIS ISSUE:
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2009 Promise of Justice Campaign Raises $300K, Recruits Volunteer Attorneys
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Mid-Delta Health Center to Offer Free Legal Aid to Patients, First Medical-Legal Partnership in Arkansas
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Meet Our Newest Commissioner, Rep. David "Bubba" Powers
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The Commission Welcomes Its First Executive Director, Amy Johnson
2009 Promise of Justice Campaign Raises $300K, Recruits Volunteer Attorneys
The Arkansas Access to Justice Commission recently completed its first Promise of Justice Campaign. Thanks to the generosity of Arkansas lawyers, judges, and corporations, the campaign helped raise more than $300,000 for legal aid. The campaign also helped recruit more than 100 new volunteer attorneys.
Click here to view our lists of donors and volunteer attorneys.
We still have a long way to go toward helping low-income Arkansans access civil justice. Every day, legal aid programs turn away clients because of decreased funding and resources. But thanks to volunteers and donors like you, 15,655 Arkansans received legal aid in 2009.
Thank you for supporting the Promise of Justice!
Mid-Delta Health Center to Offer Free Legal Aid to Patients, First Medical-Legal Partnership in Arkansas
Mid-Delta Health Systems and Legal Aid of Arkansas announced that, thanks to a $50,000 grant from the Wal-Mart Foundation, patients at the Mid-Delta community health center now have access to a new healthcare specialist – the public service attorney. The Mid-Delta Medical-Legal Partnership, which integrates legal service delivery into the medical setting, is the first program of its kind in Arkansas.
The partnership recognizes that for vulnerable individuals and families, illness can create legal problems, and legal problems can create illness. By bringing lawyers into the healthcare team and addressing health and legal needs in tandem, medical-legal partnerships can stop this cycle, and patients have a better chance of getting and staying healthy.
New: The Arkansas Access to Justice Foundation Inc.
In late 2009, members of the Arkansas Access to Justice Commission established the Arkansas Access to Justice Foundation Inc. The foundation is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization that will:
- Promote and support access to the civil justice system by persons in Arkansas who cannot afford a lawyer and for whom the law does not provide a right to counsel;
- Educate the public regarding the needs of Arkansans related to meaningful access to the civil justice system; and
- Assist in support activities, including fundraising, that enable the Arkansas Access to Justice Commission and Arkansas’s two legal aid providers to fulfill their missions of providing access to civil justice and legal aid to Arkansans who cannot afford a lawyer and who qualify for legal services.
“We are excited to begin the work of the newly-created Arkansas Access to Justice Foundation,” said Bill Waddell, president of the foundation’s board of directors. “The foundation will expand the influence and impact of legal aid throughout Arkansas, and we hope it allows more low-income Arkansans to access legal aid and pro bono attorneys.”
The foundation is currently planning the 2010 annual Promise of Justice Campaign, which will raise funds on a statewide basis to support the provision of legal aid in Arkansas and recruit attorneys to provide pro bono legal services.
(Pictured: Bill Waddell, President of the Arkansas Access to Justice Foundation Inc.)
Meet our newest Commissioner, Rep. David "Bubba" Powers
Bubba Powers is a lifelong resident of Hope. He is completing his second term in the Arkansas House of Representatives, where he represents District 3.
Rep. Powers serves as Vice-Chairman of the House Aging, Children and Youth, Legislative and Military Affairs committee, along with two terms of service on the House Judiciary committee. He also serves as a member of the Legislative Joint Audit and Joint Performance Review committees.
He has been employed as the Juvenile Intake officer for the 8th Judicial District North since 1999, and is a former Vice-President of the Hope Schools Board of Trustees. He currently serves as a board member for the School of Hope’s Rainbow of Challenges and also as an ex-officio member for the board of directors of the Hope-Hempstead County Chamber of Commerce.
He and his wife, Vigi, reside just outside Hope, in the Rocky Mound community.
(Pictured: Commissioner Rep. Bubba Powers)
The Commission Welcomes Its First Executive Director, Amy Johnson
The Arkansas Access to Justice Commission recently welcomed its first Executive Director, Amy Dunn Johnson.
“We are very happy that Amy has accepted the role of Executive Director of the Arkansas Access to Justice Commission,” said Prof. Chuck Goldner, Chair of the Commission.
“Amy began working for the Commission shortly after our first Promise of Justice Conference,” he added, “and since then, she has hit the ground running.”
As part of her new position, Ms. Johnson leads the staff efforts for three groups: the Arkansas Access to Justice Commission, the newly-created Arkansas Access to Justice Foundation Inc., and the Arkansas IOLTA Foundation Inc.
(Pictured: Amy Johnson, Executive Director of the Arkansas Access to Justice Commission)
National Access to Justice News |
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Questions or comments? Email us at cowens@arkansaslegalservices.org.