Today in Florida, thousands of low-income individuals and families are trying to deal with difficult legal problems alone. For them, access to justice often is elusive, or worse, unattainable. The problems faced by the poor are very real:
- The disabled veteran who can't buy food if he doesn't get his disability check
- The elderly widow who is losing her home because she is a victim of mortgage fraud
- The abused child who needs a safe and loving home
Legal aid helps by removing barriers to stable and productive lives - and when the lives of poor people are improved, all Floridians benefit.
The Florida Bar Foundation, a 501 (c)(3) public charity, is the only statewide organization that provides financial support for legal aid and promotes improvements in addressing the civil legal needs of the poor. But we can't do it alone.
The mission of The Florida Bar Foundation, a charitable organization established in 1956 by Florida lawyers and the Supreme Court of Florida, is to provide greater access to justice. The Foundation accomplishes its mission primarily through funding of programs that:
- Expand and improve representation and advocacy on behalf of low-income persons in civil legal matters;
- Improve the fair and effective administration of justice; and
- Promote service to the public by members of the legal profession by making public service an integral component of the law school experience.
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