By Kathryn Byers and David Sweetland
On Saturday April 12, 2014, the UDC Law Elderly & Veterans Benefits Check Program held its inaugural event. Volunteers from the University of the District of Columbia - David A. Clarke School of Law assisted elderly citizens from the DC metro area in discovering the benefits and programs available to them. The Internet can provide a great deal of information, but it can also be an overwhelming amount of information especially if you are not sure where to begin. UDC Law Benefits Check’s goal was to put the human element back into the process. Volunteers sought to communicate which services were available while connecting participants with the resources accessible in the community.
The UDC Law volunteers spent the year researching and preparing information on educational opportunities; healthcare; housing, food, and utility assistance; transportation assistance; and legal assistance programs. Participants at the pilot were eager to learn more not only about the programs that had been researched, but also about how the D.C. TimeBank or The Bread for the City TimeBank could assist them. Many of
the participants at the pilot were either registered for a TimeBank on site or provided a way to contact the
coordinator by phone.
As the UDC Law Benefits Check looks
to the future, the volunteers are hop-
ing to continue on-site information &
registration events to continue to
assist the members of our commun-
unity. We also plan on continuing to
expand our research in order to be
able to offer information on a great -
ter number of programs. We will es- pecially be working on developing the infor- imation we have geared toward assisting veterans, and holding a pilot for veterans soon.
All of the volunteers at the pilot were UDC Law students with the help of a local supervising attorney. Many of the law students became involved with the program to gain experience in public interest law. The UDC Law Benefits Check partnered up with TimeBanks USA to help makes these benefits check sessions possible. For information about the UDC Law Elderly & Veterans Benefits Check Program’s progress, please visit their blog at udclawbenefitscheck.wordpress.com/.
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UDC Law Students Connect Benefits Checks and TimeBanking