Hello, LAWM friends! We’re proud to announce our new mission and vision statements!
 
Our mission
We protect rights, challenge injustice, and fight poverty through free legal advocacy for people and families.
 
Our vision
Everyone deserves dignity and justice. We envision a West Michigan where no one lacks suitable housing, personal safety, family stability, or other basic life needs for lack of a lawyer.
 
Why did we make these changes? We want to be clear and direct about two things: 1) what we do—that’s our mission and 2) why we do it—that’s our vision. Over the next few weeks we’ll highlight examples of how we fulfill our mission and achieve our vision through advocacy for clients.
 
In fact, let’s start right now with an example of one of our lawyers standing up to protect the rights of a vulnerable senior…
Empowering a Senior to Feel Safe in Her Home
Disputes within families can be heart-wrenching, even when a family member knows they are being taken advantage of. Earlier this year a church-based nonprofit organization referred “Roberta” to us. Roberta is a retired senior who gets by on very little income. She had allowed a younger family member to live with her, but this person began exploiting Roberta financially, abusing her verbally, and threatening physical harm.

After meeting Roberta we were concerned about her safety. We concluded that her relative was trying to force Roberta out of her own home. Despite her fear and anxiety, Roberta had mixed feeling about what to do. We offered her support and understanding as we explained her legal options. Ultimately, we helped Roberta to legally remove the family member from her home, restoring peace and safety. Roberta now says, "My attorney was my guardian angel. She was fully on my side and cared about what happened to me. I hope my story encourages others to seek help from Legal Aid." 
 
This is the value of legal aid—when they are at their most vulnerable, we help people protect their rights and live with basic safety and security. 
By the Numbers
Domestic abuse takes many forms and impacts many of our clients, as well as their kids and other family members. Through July of this year we helped over: 
…in over 500 cases involving domestic violence 
Pro Bono Awards!
Every year we take on the "happy problem" of highlighting attorneys or law firms whose pro bono contributions are exemplary. While we are fortunate to work with dozens of excellent volunteer attorneys, we love celebrating those whose achievements stand out even in a crowd of other all-stars. This year we proudly salute two award winners, and you can learn more in our press release:
Staff Photo
“Hello!” from us to you. Sixty staff members from all five of our offices--Grand Rapids, Holland, Kalamazoo, Muskegon, and St. Joseph--met this month at Millennium Park for a day of education, updates on our work, and gorgeous weather.    
Upcoming Classes for Clients & Partner Organizations

October 13th
  • 6:30pm
  • Kent District Library’s Wyoming Branch

November (Dates TBD)
After a pandemic break, we are restarting our "Donuts & The Law" program for nonprofit partners. We'll teach a two-hour professional education class on housing law, which we'll repeat throughout our service area. Contact Steve Grumm for details: sgrumm@lawestmi.org.
Join us in making justice real for West Michiganders!
Every gift, whether of your time or money, changes lives.
Thank you!