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April 22, 2020 marks the 50th Anniversary of Earth Day, celebrated worldwide annually since 1970. Earth Day began as a grassroots movement to raise awareness about our shared dependence on the earth’s environment for our lives and health, and our shared responsibility to protect it.  Earth Day sparked the establishment of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and saw the […]

Who is eligible? U.S. residents will receive the Economic Impact Payment of $1,200 for individual or head of household filers, and $2,400 for married filing jointly if they are not a dependent of another taxpayer and have a work-eligible Social Security number with adjusted gross income (AGI) up to: $75,000 for individuals $112,500 for the head of household filers and […]

Texas residents anticipate receiving their Federal Stimulus payments after the federal government passed the CARES Act.  With Texans expecting to receive upwards of $1,200.00 there was concern about debt collectors and their ability to freeze consumers’ bank accounts. The Texas Supreme Court issued its 10th Emergency Order to stop most actions to collect consumer debt until May 7, 2020. I […]

Common questions related to eviction in Texas during the COVID-19 pandemic. I heard that Landlords weren’t allowed to evict people in Texas right now. Is this true? Yes and No. A landlord may file in court to evict you right now but courts cannot hold a hearing to decide the matter until after April 30, 2020. In other words, you […]

April is the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Fair Housing Month. The goal of the month is to educate the public on specific housing issues so that if they are facing them, they can seek help. Why April? On April 11, 1968, President Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1968 and Title VIII of that law is known […]

Houston, TX – Congresswoman Sylvia Garcia, Texas State Senator Carol Alvarado, and Harris Country Judge Lina Hidalgo are hosting a Spanish language Townhall on Wednesday evening at 7 pm. The Townhall will be moderated by Raul Peimbert of Univision’s Noticias 45 Houston and will focus on Coronavirus, particularly for Latino and immigrant communities at the Federal, State and County level. […]

Unemployment Benefits and Paid Leave Part of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, the Emergency Paid Sick Leave Act and the Emergency Family Medical Leave Act  are currently being established through the U.S. Department of Labor to help U.S. workers who have lost their jobs or cannot work for reasons related to the COVID-19 pandemic.  The new laws support U.S. […]

All thirty days in April are devoted to Sexual Assault Awareness and are advocated around the world to raise awareness about sexual violence and educate communities on how to prevent it. Talking about sexual assault helps end the stigma and with continuing support, we can all decrease the amount of sexual assaults that occur every year. Now is the time […]

As many of you are aware, many counties in Texas have issued stay-at-home or shelter in place orders. As a result, parents might be wondering how that affects co-parenting their children. These are the top questions we are receiving right now. What about the court-ordered visitation in place for my family? How will pick up and drop off of my […]

Lunch Is Served! As of March 19, 2020, due to the COVID-19 outbreak, Governor Abbott declared all schools in Texas temporarily closed. To assist Texas families while schools are closed, meals are available for take-home at no cost to all children through participating school districts.  Visit https://txschools.gov/ to find a food distribution site near you. HISD food distribution sites re-opened […]

PRICE GOUGING What if I have been a victim of price gouging? According to a news release published by the Texas Attorney General, “any person or business selling goods must be aware that they are prohibited by law from engaging in price gouging if they unreasonably raise the cost of necessary supplies at any point during a declared disaster,” said […]

Austin, TX – 90 year old retired nurse, Louise Moore, is relieved that her Medicaid and SNAP benefits will continue after office closures prevented her from getting her recertification documents in on time. Ms. Moore worked as a nurse for over 30 years starting Panora General Hospital, then going to Nacogdoches Memorial Hospital before ending her career as a charge […]

If there is a universal language everyone speaks, it’s money, and the lack of it is a familiar and ever-present obstacle for most people. In the United States, borrowing money is all but inevitable if you want a car, a house, tuition money, or even something as simple as a mattress. Credit is not only helpful but necessary in the […]

Overview The Coronavirus outbreak is a global pandemic spreading fast causing panic among Americans as the outbreak kills more and more people each day. People are becoming wary of the severity and fear for their lives and the lives of others. Unfortunately, the chaos and disparity circulating the Coronavirus has caused people to fall victim to many scams which result […]

Lone Star Legal Aid is available and accepting online applications for all of its offices. We hope that our client community is safe and managing well during these ever-changing and uncertain times. We are continuing to monitor the COVID-19/Coronavirus Pandemic across our service area and Lone Star Legal Aid’s work continues with all operations running virtually. This means we are […]

Lone Star Legal Aid está aceptando solicitudes por teléfono para asistencia legal en todas las oficinas. Para solicitar ayuda, llame al 1-800-733-6394. Lone Star Legal Aid está monitoreando de cerca la pandemia de COVID-19 / Coronavirus en nuestra área de servicio de 72 condados. Publicaremos avisos emitidos por líderes estatales y nacionales, agencias gubernamentales y proveedores de recursos en nuestro sitio web […]

If you’ve received a surprise bill after a trip to an emergency room you thought would be covered by insurance, it’s a result of something called balanced billing. Balance billing occurs when an insured patient receives care from a physician, hospital or other health care provider, who is not part of a patient’s health plan provider network. The out-of-network provider […]

National Consumer Protection Week is the Federal Trade Commission’s week-long campaign aimed at educating consumers about their rights to help them make well-informed decisions about money.  Lone Star Legal Aid joins the FTC with a consumer-focused blog series to be pushed out throughout the month. Stay tuned to learn about more about: Payday & Title Loans; Reverse Mortgages; Repair Fraud After […]

Houston, TX – Lone Star Legal Aid and Pro Bono Net, funded by Rebuild Texas Fund, launched a web-based app that guides disaster-recovery assistance providers and their clients through the process of applying for recovery assistance. The app’s name is “DART,” for Disaster Assistance and Recovery Tool. It’s free and accessible through one of the many organizations partnering with LSLA […]

February is National Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month which is an issue that not only impact teens, but their families, teachers, friends, and communities. Together we can raise awareness about teen dating violence (TDV) and promote safe, healthy relationships. Understanding what TDV is and what it means for those who are involved is an important first step in prevention. What […]