Advocating with Passion and Purpose
APRIL 2022
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How many phone calls would you say Indy Legal Aid receives in one year from individuals needing our assistance? Just guess – 10,000; 15,000; 20,000? Try an average of 35,000 calls each year. From those 35,000 calls, we are able to help an average of 5,000 people annually.
To help more vulnerable and marginalized individuals, we need your help to fund more attorneys and staff. Thus, our Help Us Grow Campaign.
Your gift will benefit children and their caretakers, the elderly and disabled, and low-income individuals who otherwise would not receive legal assistance. In donating to Indy Legal Aid, your gift will help to promote economic self-sufficiency, preserve dignity, and strengthen our neighborhoods and communities.
Since 1941 Indy Legal Aid has provided immediate, direct civil assistance at no charge to approximately 5,000 low-income individuals each year. In 81 years, that is more than 400,000 Hoosiers whose lives were changed for the better.
Please check out our agency video here that will give you more perspective regarding the issues facing our clients.
We are your local, non-federally funded legal aid organization and we hope you will help us grow our much-needed services that are critical to thousands of our low-income neighbors.
Our clients thank you for your support!
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In our second installment of Indy Legal Aid’s work with the Tenant Advocacy Program (TAP) that focuses on reducing the number of evictions in Marion County, we are sharing the story of our client, “Anna”, and her roommate, “Jane,” who had both been sick with COVID and missed a great deal of work. In addition, Jane had experienced two very long hospital stays for COVID and had incurred substantial medical bills. As a result of their time off work related to their COVID illnesses, Anna and Jane got behind in rent. They had been trying to catch up on their rent payments and had made several recent payments. They had even sold their TVs and other personal property and applied those funds to the rent that was owed.
Indy Legal Aid attorney, Deetta Steinmetz, advised Anna regarding the basics of Indiana eviction law and the two-hearing process for possession and damages. Deetta also explained Anna’s options regarding how to proceed on the morning of the hearing. Anna chose to have Deetta negotiate with the landlord’s attorney prior to the hearing, and they were able to reach an agreement with the landlord for a payment plan that permitted Anna and Jane to” pay-and-stay” and gave them a full month to get their rent payments caught up.
Anna and Jane paid the balance owed for past-due rent, late fees, and attorneys’ fees within the time allotted by the parties’ agreement and shortly thereafter the case was dismissed by the landlord. Although every eviction they prevent is rewarding for the TAP attorneys, Deetta took special joy in helping Anna on the day of her hearing. As Deetta explained, “This case was an extra sweet victory for me because the hearing was scheduled on Anna’s 22nd birthday!”
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Cryptocurrency - A New Funding Option for
Indy Legal Aid
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Indy Legal Aid is jumping on the crypto bandwagon to support our efforts. According to "What Your Nonprofit Needs to Know About Cryptocurrency Donations" by Tina Roh on December 8, 2021, from the National Council of Nonprofits, cryptocurrency has reached and sustained a valuation of over $2 trillion in 2021, and many people are now sitting on appreciated coins with not many places to use them. On the flip side, the IRS incentivizes donations of crypto similarly to gifts of stock.
Cryptocurrency is considered property and donating it is a nontaxable event. This means that donors don’t have to recognize capital gains and, if they itemize deductions, could potentially deduct up to the fair market value of the donated asset.
Indy Legal Aid is working with a nonprofit called Every.org that is handling these donations converting crypto to dollars. There is no fee and the conversion rate is just 1%.
For more information, please check out the Donor FAQ.
If you would like to donate cryptocurrency, please tap the button above.
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Indy Legal Aid has a number of volunteer opportunities for attorneys, students, and the general public. For attorneys, we have pro bono cases, internships for students, and our spring and fall events, along with
light office work.
For more information, click here.
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We have several ways for you to make a difference in the lives of our most vulnerable Hoosiers in Central Indiana. Approximately $.90 of every dollar donated to Indianapolis Legal Aid Society is directly used to provide programs and services. For more information, click here.
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615 N Alabama St, Suite 122
Indianapolis, IN 46204
(317) 635 - 9538
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Monday - Friday
9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
1:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
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"The Indianapolis Legal Aid Society is dedicated to ensuring that qualified low-income persons living in the Central Indiana community have access to quality legal assistance for civil disputes." |
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