Who and how we help
Here are examples of some of the organisations we have awarded grants to, supporting their vital work in providing access to justice for all:
Cumbria Law Centre is an independent charity offering free legal advice and casework in social welfare matters, namely housing, welfare benefits, debt and employment issues. We have been in operation for 22 years. Each year we deal with around 3000 enquiries from people who live or work in Cumbria, a huge and varied county, spread across 7 separate, second-tier local authorities. Our work involves many outreach projects, some of them around 40 miles from our main office in Carlisle. All of our services are completely free to our clients, but can be costly to operate as a result of the overheads such as travel and the rental of rooms from which to work. We are grateful for the support of 4 of the 7 local authorities in the county and this helps us to deliver casework through our legal aid contracts, where the legal aid funding does not cover the entire cost of delivery. As times are changing we are more and more reliant on the support of grant-making charities such as NWLST and we are very grateful indeed for their generosity and understanding of our needs.
Much of our newly emerging work, post the legal aid cuts, comes in the form of projects and may entail a one-day-per-week outreach to a young people’s drop in centre or sessions run for the tenants of housing associations. The project funding for this work often makes only a small contribution to the backroom functions required to run a high quality legal advice service. However, those activities are vital in providing a quality service to clients and also to generating the kind of professional case management and monitoring that we need in order to effectively present ourselves to new funders.
We have received 2 grants from NWLST in recent years and each of them has helped us to develop our service and become more sustainable, as follows:
In 2011 a grant of £3000 helped to finance a pilot scheme, an outreach to the Eden Valley, based in Penrith CAB. The 3-month pilot went very well and the local authority was convinced that this work was needed in the district and funded a further year of the activity. We are currently in talks to renew that funding for a second year. In addition, this pilot gave us an introduction to a local housing association who have since commissioned some work from the Law Centre providing welfare benefits advice to their tenants. All in all, over 500 people in the Eden Valley have so far been helped as a result of this successful pilot and the subsequent projects.
In 2012, a grant of £2850 allowed us to purchase some new case management software. This has been a vital tool in helping to explicate the value of our work. We have a growing number of funders and or new CaseTrack system allows us to keep on top of statistical monitoring. In addition, it has been helpful in our gaining a new quality mark in the form of Lexcel Accreditation which further adds to our public profile as a high-quality legal practice as well as a community-based charity. It can be difficult to find funding for such prosaic-sounding expenditure as software, but NWLST really understands the value of such tools in helping us to deliver our charitable and social aims.
The East Manchester Legal Advice Centre (EMLAC) provides an invaluable free legal advice service to a vulnerable community in which there are many challenges, including high levels of poverty, illiteracy and inter-generational unemployment.
The University of Manchester School of Law were approached by East Manchester Regeneration to establish a legal advice centre in the local community. In October 2009 EMLAC was launched by Michael Mansfield QC. EMLAC works in partnership with The University of Manchester Settlement, a charity established by the University in 1895. The Settlement’s key objective is “To promote the social welfare of the poorer residents in the City of Manchester and neighbourhood”. EMLAC aims to assist the Settlement in achieving this objective by providing free legal advice to members of the local Openshaw community.
The growing number of closures of pro bono providers and a reduction in the availability of legal aid has increased the need for the service that EMLAC provides. Situated in a prominent community building EMLAC provides access to justice in an area where only a handful of legal aid lawyers remain. However, EMLAC is able to draw on the voluntary support of over 8 firms of solicitors and 3 barristers, as well as a pool of over 300 students from the University School of Law. Since opening, EMLAC has directly assisted over 300 people. Most clients are considered hard to reach and on the fringes of society. However, through its prominent location and open drop in clinics, local community members have been directly supported and assisted at a time when they had no one to turn to or no alternative options open to them.
EMLAC directly tackles the need of a disadvantaged community who have suffered from the closure of pro bono providers and cut backs in funding. EMLAC not only assists a vast number of clients through appointments but frequently refers clients to partner organisations. EMLAC has developed partnerships with a local drug and alcohol rehabilitation charity, a refugee community organisation and the Settlement’s own Advice and Guidance clinic.
Since its establishment EMLAC has developed into a successful project in an inspirational setting with a growing number of dedicated support staff and volunteers. EMLAC hopes to continue to assist the community, through the Settlement’s original objectives which include tackling the causes and effects of poverty and social exclusion, to turn it into a vibrant, cohesive and economically sustainable community, free from legal troubles.
The Personal Support Unit (PSU) is an independent charity based in the Manchester Civil Justice Centre. Our trained volunteers provide practical and emotional support for people appearing in civil and family court proceedings without legal representation. Coming to court alone can be a daunting and distressing experience, particularly in a case that can affect the rest of your life. Our volunteers help to ease the pressure placed on vulnerable litigants in this situation. PSU Manchester opened in January 2008, and PSU Liverpool opened in March 2012. With the help of a grant from the NWLST we continue to flourish. Client numbers have been steadily increasing and we are confident that our volunteers will be able to cope with the increased demand for our service.
Vauxhall Community Law and Information Centre (Liverpool)
The support given to Vauxhall Community Law and Information Centre by the North West Legal Support Trust and the Access to Justice Foundation has been essential in enabling the Law Centre to continue providing a service over recent years. The centre has gone in a relatively short period of time from having 100% of our funding from the Local Authority and Legal Aid to 0%.
Extract from our solicitors report:
In the year from 1.4.2017 we have represented in 111 cases at tribunal. Of those cases, 13 were adjourned for further evidence. Of those 98 cases which had an outcome, 95 were successful and 3 were unsuccessful. Of the 3 that were unsuccessful, all of the decisions have been overturned on appeal and decisions made in their favour by the new tribunals. As a result we have a 100% record for 2017-18.
We are still struggling to survive but now feel that we will begin again in the coming year and future begin to start developing our services again.
Thank you to you and all the NWLST Trustees for your help, it is very much appreciated.
Cumbria Law Centre is an independent charity offering free legal advice and casework in social welfare matters, namely housing, welfare benefits, debt and employment issues. We have been in operation for 22 years. Each year we deal with around 3000 enquiries from people who live or work in Cumbria, a huge and varied county, spread across 7 separate, second-tier local authorities. Our work involves many outreach projects, some of them around 40 miles from our main office in Carlisle. All of our services are completely free to our clients, but can be costly to operate as a result of the overheads such as travel and the rental of rooms from which to work. We are grateful for the support of 4 of the 7 local authorities in the county and this helps us to deliver casework through our legal aid contracts, where the legal aid funding does not cover the entire cost of delivery. As times are changing we are more and more reliant on the support of grant-making charities such as NWLST and we are very grateful indeed for their generosity and understanding of our needs.
Much of our newly emerging work, post the legal aid cuts, comes in the form of projects and may entail a one-day-per-week outreach to a young people’s drop in centre or sessions run for the tenants of housing associations. The project funding for this work often makes only a small contribution to the backroom functions required to run a high quality legal advice service. However, those activities are vital in providing a quality service to clients and also to generating the kind of professional case management and monitoring that we need in order to effectively present ourselves to new funders.
We have received 2 grants from NWLST in recent years and each of them has helped us to develop our service and become more sustainable, as follows:
In 2011 a grant of £3000 helped to finance a pilot scheme, an outreach to the Eden Valley, based in Penrith CAB. The 3-month pilot went very well and the local authority was convinced that this work was needed in the district and funded a further year of the activity. We are currently in talks to renew that funding for a second year. In addition, this pilot gave us an introduction to a local housing association who have since commissioned some work from the Law Centre providing welfare benefits advice to their tenants. All in all, over 500 people in the Eden Valley have so far been helped as a result of this successful pilot and the subsequent projects.
In 2012, a grant of £2850 allowed us to purchase some new case management software. This has been a vital tool in helping to explicate the value of our work. We have a growing number of funders and or new CaseTrack system allows us to keep on top of statistical monitoring. In addition, it has been helpful in our gaining a new quality mark in the form of Lexcel Accreditation which further adds to our public profile as a high-quality legal practice as well as a community-based charity. It can be difficult to find funding for such prosaic-sounding expenditure as software, but NWLST really understands the value of such tools in helping us to deliver our charitable and social aims.
The East Manchester Legal Advice Centre (EMLAC) provides an invaluable free legal advice service to a vulnerable community in which there are many challenges, including high levels of poverty, illiteracy and inter-generational unemployment.
The University of Manchester School of Law were approached by East Manchester Regeneration to establish a legal advice centre in the local community. In October 2009 EMLAC was launched by Michael Mansfield QC. EMLAC works in partnership with The University of Manchester Settlement, a charity established by the University in 1895. The Settlement’s key objective is “To promote the social welfare of the poorer residents in the City of Manchester and neighbourhood”. EMLAC aims to assist the Settlement in achieving this objective by providing free legal advice to members of the local Openshaw community.
The growing number of closures of pro bono providers and a reduction in the availability of legal aid has increased the need for the service that EMLAC provides. Situated in a prominent community building EMLAC provides access to justice in an area where only a handful of legal aid lawyers remain. However, EMLAC is able to draw on the voluntary support of over 8 firms of solicitors and 3 barristers, as well as a pool of over 300 students from the University School of Law. Since opening, EMLAC has directly assisted over 300 people. Most clients are considered hard to reach and on the fringes of society. However, through its prominent location and open drop in clinics, local community members have been directly supported and assisted at a time when they had no one to turn to or no alternative options open to them.
EMLAC directly tackles the need of a disadvantaged community who have suffered from the closure of pro bono providers and cut backs in funding. EMLAC not only assists a vast number of clients through appointments but frequently refers clients to partner organisations. EMLAC has developed partnerships with a local drug and alcohol rehabilitation charity, a refugee community organisation and the Settlement’s own Advice and Guidance clinic.
Since its establishment EMLAC has developed into a successful project in an inspirational setting with a growing number of dedicated support staff and volunteers. EMLAC hopes to continue to assist the community, through the Settlement’s original objectives which include tackling the causes and effects of poverty and social exclusion, to turn it into a vibrant, cohesive and economically sustainable community, free from legal troubles.
The Personal Support Unit (PSU) is an independent charity based in the Manchester Civil Justice Centre. Our trained volunteers provide practical and emotional support for people appearing in civil and family court proceedings without legal representation. Coming to court alone can be a daunting and distressing experience, particularly in a case that can affect the rest of your life. Our volunteers help to ease the pressure placed on vulnerable litigants in this situation. PSU Manchester opened in January 2008, and PSU Liverpool opened in March 2012. With the help of a grant from the NWLST we continue to flourish. Client numbers have been steadily increasing and we are confident that our volunteers will be able to cope with the increased demand for our service.
Vauxhall Community Law and Information Centre (Liverpool)
The support given to Vauxhall Community Law and Information Centre by the North West Legal Support Trust and the Access to Justice Foundation has been essential in enabling the Law Centre to continue providing a service over recent years. The centre has gone in a relatively short period of time from having 100% of our funding from the Local Authority and Legal Aid to 0%.
Extract from our solicitors report:
In the year from 1.4.2017 we have represented in 111 cases at tribunal. Of those cases, 13 were adjourned for further evidence. Of those 98 cases which had an outcome, 95 were successful and 3 were unsuccessful. Of the 3 that were unsuccessful, all of the decisions have been overturned on appeal and decisions made in their favour by the new tribunals. As a result we have a 100% record for 2017-18.
We are still struggling to survive but now feel that we will begin again in the coming year and future begin to start developing our services again.
Thank you to you and all the NWLST Trustees for your help, it is very much appreciated.