by Bailey White
Staff Writer
Jacksonville Area Legal Aid is no stranger to money issues. Soon after losing a chunk of funding for its Refugee Immigration Program, JALA is dealing with another loss of a significant source of dollars.
The loss is causing the organization to cutback on one of its relative caretaker programs, which provides legal advice and outreach services to people caring for dependent family members in Duval, Clay, Nassau, St. Johns and Baker counties.
“We had to lay off two people this week,” said Michael Figgins, JALA’s executive director. “We found out on July 1 that a Title III E grant of $125,000 that was supposed to last until the end of September was ending mid-year. That’s left us in a lurch of about $60,000.”
One attorney and one paralegal had to be cut from the staff, which means JALA will no longer be able to offer caretaker outreach.
“Our program was very successful,” said Figgins. “We provided services to a needy population. These people were taking care of their relatives,who would otherwise be in hospitals and nursing homes, costing the state money. But often times the caretakers are as bad off as their elderly relatives and need plenty of help themselves.”
While the organization still has a Title III B grant, the requirements of that grant limit the number of people JALA will be able to assist.
On the other end of the financial spectrum, a slightly larger amount of City funding will allow JALA to expand one of its programs.
Legal Aid receives City funding in the form of a public service grant and this year received a total of $378,000, an increase of $30,000 over last year. The $30,000 will be used for the organization’s consumer law group, which deals with cases involving predatory lending, an area that Figgins said he wants to expand.
“The $30,000 will help cover the basics, but the need is always there for more,” said Figgins. “These types of cases happen every day, and each one is a major case. When we’re successful, which we often are with these types of cases, we save homes and we create a significant source of income for our clients.
“We have Lynn Drysdale, who is one of the top predatory lending experts in the nation, and I could have her and four or five other attorneys working on nothing but predatory law cases just to fill the need.”
A few years back, work by the City and Legal Aid resulted in the passing of an ordinance to ban title loans in Jacksonville.
“That’s just an example of what the City of Jacksonville and Legal Aid can do as partners,” said Figgins. “We’d like to make Jacksonville a shark free zone. If these companies realize that they won’t get far in Jacksonville because Legal Aid doesn’t tolerate them, they’ll go somewhere else where they don’t have to deal with a lot of hassle. I see us as being almost a quasi-agency with the City where together we can accomplish a lot of great things.”
To ensure further City funding, Figgins is spreading the word about the organization to the new mayoral administration.
“We’re talking to Mayor [John] Peyton’s staff, letting them know what we do. We’re probably the best kept secret in town,” said Figgins. “But we’re confident that Jacksonville recognizes all we can do realizes what we an do for the city.”