Volunteer Attorneys are working to provide free legal services to those in greatest need.

Seattle’s Union Gospel Mission, a religious based care and recovery program, teamed up with a group of attorneys in an effort to help Seattle’s huge homeless population combat overwhelming legal issues by providing free legal services and counsel. A large percentage of Seattle’s homeless citizens have unresolved legal obstacles that are preventing them from taking the necessary steps to rise up out of their vagrant situation. Essentially all of these people cannot afford to hire an attorney and many don’t even know how to begin resolving these issues. Frequent run-ins with the law are just one of the many sad realities facing Seattle’s homeless population and while this group of volunteer attorneys are doing a lot to help, their efforts will not solve the problem single-handedly, there is simply too much work to be done. Many of those seeking legal help have so few resources available to them that wading through their legal muck can be slow going at best. Simple things like not having a driver’s license or valid home address can stop progress and prove quite discouraging. That being said, these volunteer lawyers and paralegals help around a thousand people a year through meetings at the Mission’s shelters and even walk-in clinics for more general issues and group concerns. These clinics are offered several times a week in Bellevue, Everett, and Downtown Seattle.