At the College lunch this fall in Washington, Nakia Matthews of the DC Bar Pro Bono Center shared with Fellows the impact our grants have on their clients. The Pro Bono Center is the largest provider of free bankruptcy legal representation in the
District of Columbia, focusing on the recruitment and training of volunteers to assist their low-income clients. Over the past 10 years, with support from Foundation grants, the Pro Bono Center recruited 432 volunteers and assisted more than 445 clients. Ms. Matthews thanked the Foundation for its support, which is the only dedicated source for the bankruptcy clinic. She shared the story of Mr. Daniel, a client whose wages had been garnished, preventing him from providing for his two children. A pro bono volunteer from the clinic assisted Mr. Daniel in filing bankruptcy and obtaining a fresh start. Another client, Ms. Davis, needed her car for ongoing cancer treatments. As a result of her medical issues, Ms. Davis had more than $60,000 in debt. With the assistance of a pro bono volunteer, Ms. Davis filed bankruptcy and discharged her debt, enabling her to focus on her health issues.
The stories shared by Ms. Matthews are just a small snapshot of their work, and the impact of our grants. As the Center explained in its grant application:
“Because our clients are living on such low-incomes – at or below 200% of the federal poverty guidelines – bankruptcy has a tremendous impact, allowing clients to avoid crushing wage garnishments that could render them homeless and unable to meet their families’ most basic needs. Income preservation is often the goal for clients who are unable to work because of a disability but may be facing a reduction in their already minimal public benefits due to past overpayments or tax debts. For many of our clients, their indebtedness impedes their most diligent efforts to obtain employment or housing, and bankruptcy has proven a valuable tool for addressing these barriers to self-sufficiency.”
The DC Bar Pro Bono Center is one of 50 grantees that received funds this year. As in the past, members of the Pro Bono Committee spent considerable time and effort to review the 56 grant requests seeking more than $589,000. After approval by the Foundation and College Boards, the Pro Bono Committee awarded $472,330 to organizations in 22 different states plus the District of Columbia and the territories of the Northern Mariana Islands and Guam. The organizations include grantees in large metropolitan areas such as New York City and Los Angeles, as well as grantees in smaller cities such Flint, MI and Buffalo, NY. Several grantees provide services for large or rural areas, such as Mid-Shore Pro Bono in Easton, MD, which covers 8 counties in Maryland, or Legal Services of North Dakota in Bismarck, ND, which provides services across the state of North Dakota. The proposed awards include grants to eight grantees that have not previously received a grant from the Foundation.
The grantees are usually local bankruptcy pro bono programs formed by or supported by the bankruptcy bar and bankruptcy judges in that locale. The programs reflect a variety of ways to expand services. Some grantees provide for training and recruitment of additional volunteers to take on pro bono cases. Other applicants request support for self-help or pro se clinics to educate and advise unrepresented individuals in bankruptcy court. Or grantees
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From the Pro Bono Committee
Hon. Janet E. Bostwick, U.S. Bankruptcy Court
Chair, Pro Bono Committee