Vermont Bar Journal, Vol. 40, No. 2 Vermont Bar Journal, Summer 2019 | Page 32
by Lila Shapero, Esq.
Vermont Bar Foundation Grantee Spotlight
Orleans County Restorative Justice Center
The Orleans County Restorative Justice
Center receives a competitive grant from
the Vermont Bar Foundation (VBF) to help
support its legal clinics.
This article is part of the VBF Vermont
Bar Journal series that highlights different
grantees who receive funding through the
VBF. The VBF is able to support those non-
profit organizations providing legal advice
or representation to low-income Vermont-
ers through IOLTA funds and contributions.
The Orleans County Restorative Justice
Center (OCRJC) started over 20 years ago
as part of the restorative justice movement
in the United States. Every Vermont County
has a restorative justice program focusing
on conflict resolution between an offend-
er and victim and/or community and focus-
ing on offender reentry into the communi-
ty. Restorative justice programs focus on
accountability and healing.
Barbara Morrow is the Executive Direc-
tor of the OCRJC, a 501(c)(3) non-profit
agency located in Newport. Morrow has
been Executive Director for 7 years.
According to Barbara Morrow, OCRJC
was the first community justice center in
Vermont and the first program in the Unit-
ed States to hear a documented, restor-
ative panel case. OCRJC presently has
25 trained volunteers. About 5 years ago,
OCRJC expanded it focus and started a
civil legal clinic.
In talking to Morrow, it is clear that she is
committed to her community and to bring-
ing the underlying principles of conflict res-
olution to disputes and problems. Orleans
County is part of the Northeast Kingdom,
a beautiful but struggling area of Vermont.
Orleans County is profiled in Vermont’s
Northeast Kingdom: A Community Profile
by Vermont State Data Center at UVM’s
Center for Rural Studies (2018). The pop-
ulation is 27,076. Labor force participa-
tion is 58.4% (second lowest county in Ver-
mont) and the median household income is
$41,437 (second lowest county in Vermont)
while the poverty level is 16.7% (second
highest county in Vermont).
Adding a civil clinic has been a way of
addressing equal access to justice accord-
ing to Morrow. She explains many are con-
fused as to how the law works and what it
can do.
Their understanding may come from
word on the street, a sometimes “creative”
explanation of the law and courts.
VBF funds enable OCRJC to screen po-
tential clients, schedule clients, and sup-
port the operation of the clinic. Morrow
states that they field about 20 telephone
calls each month for screening. The fund-
ing provides the space and a laptop.
Once the calls are screened and sched-
uled, a pro bono attorney sees 6 to 8 cli-
ents monthly at the clinic. Each appoint-
ment is slated for 30 minutes, but clients
are able to return to follow up on their legal
issues. The majority of cases are family law
related. Cases also include employment,
small claims, housing and other matters.
Another pro bono attorney sees 6 to 8
clients quarterly at a second clinic dedicat-
ed to elder law issues including probate
law, wills, financial issues and bankrupt-
cy. In some of these cases, the legal issue
may stem from conflicts within families.
Morrow explains that an in-person con-
ference rather than a telephone conference
makes communication easier for clients, es-
pecially elders. Moreover, she meets with
the local Council on Aging and St. Johns-
bury office of Vermont Legal Aid to brain-
storm projects, including ways to produce
educational materials to disseminate.
OCRJC brings the principles of conflict
resolution to their clinics. Morrow notes
that sometimes hearing what the law can
and cannot do enables a person to think
differently about a conflict. This is especially
true in matters when the attorney explains
that there is not a legal case to bring. This
information can help the person let go of
the conflict or dampen strong emotions. In
addition, Morrow explains both sides may
share in the cause or escalation of a dispute
and the attorney can help the person find
a resolution.
Sometimes a telephone call from the at-
torney can solve the issue. In one case, a
person had moved to a different town and
ran into protracted difficulties trying to reg-
ister to vote. A telephone call solved the
problem.
Morrow would like to see more clinics
and more education. By the time this arti-
cle appears, an Expungement Clinic spon-
sored by Vermont Legal Aid will have oc-
curred in Orleans County with the help of
OCRJC. For this, Orleans County residents
will be able to access help without the diffi-
culty and cost of traveling to Burlington or
other sites in the State.
Morrow describes one of OCRJS’s goals
as building upon its coordination efforts
with their community partners to broaden
access to justice for Orleans residents. The
OCRJS also seeks to expand restorative
services in a broad array of settings. It con-
tinues to narrow the access to justice gap
in Orleans County by providing these clin-
ics and other services with the assistance
of the VBF and others, through your con-
tributions.
____________________
Lila Shapero is a pro bono emeritus at-
torney and a member of the Vermont Bar
Foundation.
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THE VERMONT BAR JOURNAL • SUMMER 2019
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