News and stories about our work to protect and advance the civil legal rights of low-income Texans.
Lone Star Legal Aid announces the launch of its Eviction HELP Project. This project is a self-guided tool that helps Texas renters to fight evictions during the COVID 19 Pandemic. Right now, thousands of renters across Texas are facing evictions. But there are protections for renters. The Eviction HELP Project helps eviction litigants prepare for court by giving renters legal […]
What Is The CARES Act? The CARES Act temporarily protects some renters from eviction for nonpayment of rent. It also stops late fees for rent from March 26, 2020 until July 25, 2020. Landlords cannot issue notices to vacate for nonpayment during this time. You still have to pay rent even if your home is covered by the CARES Act. […]
Rural TX – Lone Star Legal Aid was awarded a new grant from Texas Access to Justice Foundation to serve struggling Texans in rural communities. LSLA serves 47 designated rural counties and the remaining 25 counties are designated urban with rural areas. Many communities are long distances from LSLA offices, and they suffer from isolation, extreme poverty levels, no public […]
Clarissa Ayala | Communications Director Lone Star Legal Aid | 832-627-8404 | cayala@lonestarlegal.org Shelby Alexander | Communications Director | Texas RioGrande Legal Aid 512-374-2717 | salexander@trla.org Shelby Jean | Director of Communications | Legal Aid of Northwest Texas 817-339-5384 | jeans@lanwt.org Meghan Lee | Communications Manager | Texas Legal Service Center | 281-705-4973 | mlee@tlsc.org Houston, TX – Last week […]
Texas Legal Aid Providers Offer Housing Resources During Coronavirus Pandemic As a new month approaches, many people across Texas are still reeling from the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic and are struggling to make rent. The Texas Supreme Court issued its 12th emergency order extending the statewide eviction trial moratorium to help Texans unable to pay their rent. This order […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Houston, TX – Lone Star Legal Aid will be at the Town Hall being hosted by Counsel Member Amy Peck from District A at 6:30 PM, Wednesday, January 29, 2020, at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, located at 4703 East Shadowdale Drive, Houston, Texas 77041. The location has been set up as an American Red Cross […]
Houston, TX – Lone Star Legal Aid clients will soon be able to report and track their environmental concerns through a new mobile app. LSLA’s Environmental Justice Team, part of the Equitable Development Initiative, proposed this client-based application as a tool that community members will be able to use for reporting and tracking environmental issues that they see and experience […]
Houston, TX – In a stunning reversal of plans, a concrete batch plant operator has withdrawn its application for a permit to operate next to homes and across the street from Highland Park and Community Center, a vital community gathering space and park in Acres Homes, a historic community of color in Northwest Houston. Hundreds of community members were engaged […]
Houston, TX – Tax Identity Theft Awareness Week aims to warn the public about tax ID thieves and IRS impostors. Tax identity theft occurs when someone uses your Social Security Number (SSN) to file a phony return and claim your refund. IRS impostors are scammers who pretend they are calling from the IRS claiming you owe taxes and demand immediate […]
Houston, TX – Lone Star Legal Aid’s Shrushti Kothari, Disaster Relief Unit Staff Attorney, collaborated with Pro Bono Net in their creation of “Figuring Out FEMA,” a project they worked on with Center for Urban Pedagogy and designed by Carmen Lopez. “Figuring Out FEMA” is a pocket-sized visual resource for disaster survivors. The project is part of Center for Urban […]
HOUSTON, TX – Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner held a press conference on January 7th in Acres Homes, a historic community of color in Northwest Houston where a concrete batch plant is attempting to secure a permit to operate its facility next to a residential home and across the street from Highland Park and Community Center, a vital community gathering space, […]
Lone Star Legal Aid launched a year-long Veteran-focused Pro Bono Recruitment Challenge. We are recruiting volunteers to help meet the dire legal needs of low-income veterans by placing veteran cases with volunteers for representation. According to a message from Legal Services Corporation Board Chair, John G. Levi, a Department of Veterans Affairs survey of homeless vets earlier this year found […]
Austin, TX – Lone Star Legal Aid’s Equitable Development Initiative accepted the Texas Housers Award at its annual luncheon in Austin on Tuesday, November 6, 2019. The award “recognizes Texans who, through their work on behalf of housing and shelter, are dedicated to achieving a just and caring society that ensures all people a decent home in a quality neighborhood.” […]
Texas Veterans Legal Aid Week is a statewide campaign that centers on building awareness of the legal issues facing veterans, surrounding Veterans Day. Across the state, legal aid organizations will host legal clinics, intake, legal informational workshops, seminars, media events, and issuing press releases. With 1,584,844 veterans living here, Texas ranks second in veteran population according to the Department of […]
HOUSTON, TX – Lone Star Legal Aid joined CHILDREN AT RISK for an educational bus tour presentation, sponsored by Locke Lord, LLP, on human trafficking in Houston on Tuesday, October 22, 2019, where they were able to get a first-hand look at both where major trafficking incidents have occurred and where this crime may be presently occurring. This informative event […]
Longview, Paris, Texarkana, Tyler, Texas – Free legal assistance is available to low-income individuals in Cass, Lamar, Panola, Rains, Rusk, Van Zandt, and Wood counties affected by the North Texas Tornado that caused severe and widespread property damage and threatened loss of life on October 20, 2019. Governor Greg Abbott issued a disaster declaration that provides state resources to local […]