NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana-The Louisiana Bar Foundation (LBF) has established a Hurricane Laura Disaster Fund to address the following needs:
- Civil Legal Assistance for Victims – immediate legal services is a significant need facing Hurricane Laura victims. Basic needs such as housing, employment, insurance and federal program benefits are issues for most citizens in the affected areas and not just for those living in poverty.
- Assistance for Members of the Legal Community – direct relief to attorneys who lost their office or homes in the storm.
- Office Recovery Assistance – to provide displaced attorneys with access to computers, internet, copiers, phones, and office furniture lost in the storm.
Donations may be directed to the area of your choice or prioritized as needed by the LBF. Make a donation to the Hurricane Laura Disaster Fund. Checks payable to the Louisiana Bar Foundation/Hurricane Laura Disaster Fund may be mailed to 1615 Poydras Street, Suite 1000, New Orleans, LA 70112. For more information, please contact LBF Associate Executive Director Laura Sewell at (504) 561-1046.
After a disaster, civil legal aid needs are dramatically increased. Displaced families and individuals experience a variety of legal needs. Many need help with successions and title clearing to access federal recovery dollars. Domestic violence centers are impacted with increased residents. Vulnerable children need protection due to family instability and separation. The economic security of the elderly is in jeopardy. The stories are powerful and heartbreaking.
The Louisiana Bar Foundation has a robust network of well-established partnerships with more than 70 legal aid providers across the state’s 64 parishes who are working hard to meet emergency civil legal needs. “LBF stands with our community partners who are working even harder as more families need the help of Louisiana’s civil legal aid safety net to recover from the impact of Hurricane Laura and the pandemic,” Skip Philips, Jr., LBF President.
