Hurricane Katrina Legal Aid

On Monday, August 28, 2005 Hurricane Katrina struck Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama, decimating the Gulf Coast region and setting off a series of events that led to the evacuation of New Orleans.

As of Wednesday, August 31, 2005, approximately 6,000 evacuees are receiving shelter and support services at scattered Red Cross shelters in the Houston area. By September 1, this number will swell to at least 30,000 as buses arrive from New Orleans and transform the Astrodome into an emergency shelter. These numbers are anticipated to grow by the hour for at least 4 days following the initial arrival of this group. The number of Evacuees does not take into account the countless other individuals and families staying at hotels, or staying with family or friends in the Greater Harris County Area.

Program Objective

To provide legal advice to Evacuees of the Gulf Coast Region utilizing volunteers from the Houston Bar Association.

Program Dynamics

This effort will be coordinated by the Houston Volunteer Lawyers Program and is a collaborative effort of the Houston Bar Association, Houston Volunteer Lawyers Program and Lone Star Legal Aid, as well as numerous professional groups. Local attorneys will volunteer at the one of the Program sites to assist those who have been displaced. Prior to initiating contact with Evacuees, volunteers will receive materials that will assist them in answering questions that may be posed. Lone Star Legal Aid will offer a full range of services and Houston Volunteer Lawyers Program will provide the coordination and volunteers to support this undertaking.

Process

Volunteers will be trained initially by attorneys licensed in Louisiana and attorneys with experience in disaster relief efforts in the Large Conference Room at the office of the law firm Baker Botts. For those attorneys not able to attend the training in person, the presentation will be recorded and be available for viewing on the website of the Houston Bar Association. The training will include pertinent handouts, basic training materials in advice categories related to the situation that the Evacuees are facing and Louisiana and Texas law relating to those issues.

Once the training session is complete, volunteers will be familiarized with the program sites.

Contact

Houston Volunteer Lawyers Program
David M. Mandell, Executive Director
(713)228-0735 ext. 108

Volunteer Opportunities

A Call Back Program has been established at Houston Volunteer Lawyers Program in which volunteer attorneys can provide services from their home or office. Volunteers simply contact HVLP for a list of clients needing counsel and advice regarding various legal matters. The volunteer attorney then places a phone call to the client and counsels them over the phone. To volunteer, please contact HVLP attorney Emily Schroeder at 713-228-0735 extension 128.

An upcoming Legal Advice Clinic is being scheduled at this time. Please check back for dates and times or contact HVLP attorney Emily Shcroeder at 713-228-0735 extension 128.

Volunteer Training

View the Training Video - the training Video will play automatically when you click on the link, no special software is required. The video is hosted by Baker Botts, LLP

The video was made during the orientation session held at the law firm of Baker Botts 910 Louisiana 32nd Floor, on Tuesday, September . 6th :

The training materials to address LA law provided during this training are available under the Training Materials section of this page.

Our kind thanks to Bill Kroger and Baker Botts for their support.

Training Materials

Resource Materials for Responding to Legal Questions from those Displaced by Hurricane Katrina
Published by the State Bar of Texas. This link will direct you to content provided through the State Bar of Texas web server.

Supplemental Documentation

Disaster Legal Services Intact Form - Appendix A
Disaster Legal Service Sase Closure Form - Appendix B
Exhibit C1 - Shelter Match Procedure
Exhibit C2 - HAUL Project Status Report
Exhibit C3 - ApplyShelter
Exhibit C4 - DonateShelter
Exhibit C5 - Golden Nugget call sheet
Exhibit C6 - Release_for_Housing_Assistance
Exhibit C7 - Form_for_donor
Exhibit C8 - Rental Supplement Agreement
Exhibit D - FEMA Individuals and Households Program
Exhibit E - La DOL Unemployment Ins Benefits Rights Handbook
Exhibit F - Social Security
Exhibit G - Katrina Bank Status (by name)
Exhibit H - La Dept Insurance HurricanePhoneNumbers

Helpful Hurricane Katrina Relief Links

American Red Cross

FEMA

United Way of the Texas Gulf Coast

The Houston Chronicle