Pro Bono Spotlight

News

Attorneys needed for JALACARE Program

by Kathy Para, Pro Bono

Development Coordinator for

Jacksonville Area Legal Aid

Robert, a teenager browsing the laptop computer offerings at the local electronics store, is captivated by the latest 3-D gaming graphics of one particular model and can’t quite tear himself away from the video game that’s running on it.

A salesman comes over and asks if he can help.

“You know,” says the salesman, “if you just have a part-time job our company has a credit card you can get. And if you apply today, you can get 10 percent off of anything you buy today, including this great laptop and the game you’re playing right now.”

This is where it starts, and this is where Jacksonville Area Legal Aid Credit Abuse Resistance Education (JALACARE) wants it to end.

JALACARE is a combined effort of the Fourth Judicial Circuit Pro Bono Committee and the Duval County School Board. The agencies have joined forces to enter Duval County’s schools and help prevent young adults from financial ruin. The curriculum educates teenagers about the potential pitfalls of succumbing to the seemingly easy money of credit cards.

“This year we’re really concentrating on 12th-graders,” said Atheia Inman, JALA Program Administrator. “Once they graduate, they will become our next wave of consumers. They really need to know the do’s and don’ts of the credit trap that so many young people fall into.”

JALACARE recruits area lawyers and law students to give two 90-minute classes in which they explain the financial dangers of credit card purchases to high school seniors.

Last year, in its first year of existence, the effort was fueled by 53 volunteer Jacksonville area attorneys and Florida Coastal Law School students. Inman is hoping for an even bigger volunteer turnout this year.

“This can be a really rewarding experience for any attorney looking to give back to the community,” Inman said.

The attorneys and law students in last year’s effort made a real impact on the students’ financial literacy.

“We give a pre- and post-test of the students’ financial knowledge,” Inman said. “Last year, we saw up to a 25 percent increase in knowledge between the pre- and post-tests. So the program really is making a difference.”

The goal this year is to make that difference to more students in more schools.

“We were only able to go into three schools last year,” Inman said. “This year, we’re really hoping to get enough volunteers to teach classes in eight high schools.”

Unless they are reached in time, students like Robert will find the lure of easy money too much to resist, and they will sacrifice the very important needs of their future – cars, rent, and insurance payments – to satisfy the wishes and whims of their youth.

JALACARE needs civic-minded attorneys to help end this cycle and allow more Jacksonville young people to enter adulthood with the knowledge and awareness to help them be financially stable.

In preparation for the upcoming school year, Jacksonville Area Legal Aid will offer the two-hour JALACARE training on at 5:30 p.m. Aug. 17 at its office located at 126 West Adams Street. Attorneys interested in attending the training and being part of this important credit abuse prevention effort in our public schools are encouraged to contact Atheia Inman, JALACARE Administrator at [email protected], 356-8371, ext. 377. Trained attorneys will teach the JALACARE curriculum to high school seniors in their economics class on two separate days during the semester.

It’s pro bono that’s manageable. It’s pro bono that matters.

Thanks to these and other committed JALACARE volunteers:

Judge Roberto Arias

Lois Ragsdale, Esq.

Carla Adams

Chip Parker, Esq.

Edward Cottrell, Esq.`

Justin Funck

Robert Meek, Esq.

Jess Ditcher

Wayne Hogan, Esq.

Javier Rivera