News and stories about our work to protect and advance the civil legal rights of low-income Texans.
Crime Victims’ Rights Week is an annual week-long campaign in April that celebrates the accomplishments of the victim’ rights movement. According to the Office for Victims of Crime (OVC), “National Crime Victims’ Rights Week has challenged the nation to confront and remove barriers to achieving justice for all victims of crime.” This year’s theme is rights, access, equity, for […]
Houston, TX – The Legal Aid for Survivors of Sexual Assault (LASSA) Texas Network is pleased to announce the launch of their website, www.lassatexas.org. The statewide network consists of nine programs that collaborate to provide holistic legal services to the most vulnerable and underserved sexual violence survivors in Texas. Since the LASSA Program’s inception in October 2015, the Network has […]
Being verbally and physically abused is a difficult affliction to tolerate. Being stalked and not knowing when your stalker just might show up is even worse. It causes fear and takes a mental toll on the survivor. For Cody, it was just that. Cody met Delilah in high school, but their romantic affairs did not take off until they reunited […]
Staff Attorney Cheranda Robertson works in our Crime Victims Unit within Lone Star Legal Aid (LSLA). While handling some business in her private life, she met a woman who used our services 30 years ago, and now donates her time and money to legal aid advocacy. She shared her story with Attorney Robertson. Many years ago, Monica became pregnant as […]
Walking on eggshells around your abusive partner can be terrifying, especially when you are constantly threatened and assaulted. Kaitlyn was just a teenager when her boyfriend began violent tendencies. When Peter was 23, he met 19-year-old Kaitlyn. Soon thereafter, she became his girlfriend, and then she became pregnant with his child. Early on in their relationship, she learned that if […]
Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month (TDVAM) is a month-long campaign dedicated to raising awareness about teen dating abuse in an effort to prevent it before it starts. It is important to speak up about the challenges teens face in relationships, and the reality that dating violence happens to millions of people, including teens. Getting the conversation started about teen dating […]
January is National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month. Since 2010, the President has dedicated the month to raising awareness about the different forms of human trafficking, also known as modern slavery, and educating people about this crime and how to spot it. Texas is a hot spot for human trafficking in the United States. Its population is spread over […]
January is Poverty Awareness Month, a month-long initiative to raise awareness and call attention to the growth of poverty in America. We fight to end poverty by creating equity and opportunity. Throughout the month of January, we’ll be talking about how and why poverty continues to impact so many people. From housing and healthcare, to personal and family safety, we […]
Houston, TX – Local natural gas company Williams of the Galleria Area has sponsored one of Lone Star Legal Aid’s clients with all the furnishings for a new apartment. December is the National Season of Giving, and Williams contacted us to find out if they could sponsor one of our clients. We connected them with Blanca Correa, a crime survivor […]
It wasn’t unusual for the police to arrive at Cynthia’s home in the middle of the day, however this time, they expected to find her dead. They always came and checked on her and warned her to never leave her house at night. Cynthia was a victim of domestic violence for two years until she got a divorce from her […]
The children were crying, screaming and covering their watery eyes while their mother starved them, neglected them and continually drowned herself in drugs. The children deserved to be loved, looked after and cared for. They didn’t deserve to be abandoned, neglected and left to fend for themselves, especially at the ages of seven and nine. Valerie, the daughter in law […]
The Constitutional rights of several residents were being violated in a low-income housing complex in Center, Texas. They were facing invasion of privacy and unequal protection to the laws rooted by racial discrimination. The Center Housing Authority (CHA) continually violated these residents’ Constitutional rights by breaking multiple federal laws. The landlord’s rules and regulations were so restrictive that the residents’ […]
Kassandra met Lilah in San Diego, California in 2012 when she was just twelve years old, and instantly knew she was in love with her. She expressed to her mother that she was bisexual and did not approve. Her mother thought life would be hard for her, because she would be judged harshly. Kassandra’s father was never in the picture, […]
Each year, on October 10, individuals and organizations join the global movement to raise awareness about mental health. Since the Covid-19 pandemic emerged, mental health conditions have been rising across all demographics. By raising awareness, we can fight the stigma, provide support, and educate the public. Since the beginning of the pandemic, the nation has witnessed a significant increase in […]
Richard, 64, and his siblings, inherited the father’s home in 2018 along with roughly $9000 in past due property taxes including penalties and interest. After their father’s passing, Richard moved into the home, maintaining the property and paying the bills which included making payments towards the taxes. When the Covid pandemic hit, Richard had trouble keeping up with the payments and with the threat of foreclosure looming, he sought relief in the form of a loan to pay […]
In 2019, Lone Star Legal Aid (LSLA) Staff Attorney, Cheranda Robertson represented Samantha, a survivor of severe domestic violence and continual sexual assault from her husband Josh. When Robertson entered the case, the trial was in about a month and mediation resulted in a dead end. The property they shared consisted of three real estate properties, four vehicles, and personal effects. The couple came to California from Mexico in the 1980’s. They […]
In December of 2020, Anita started a Medicaid application for her two children, ages 13 and 15, while her 13 year-old child was still in the hospital, not able to breathe after contracting COVID-19. Anita was awarded the Medicaid Spend Down Program for both of her sons which is awarded to help with medical payments. The children were denied regular Medicaid and CHIP benefits because, according to HHSC, Anita’s income was too high to qualify for either. Anita was confused as to […]
Michelle applied for services with Lone Star Legal Aid (LSLA) at the Spring Branch Family Development Center Outreach Enrollment Clinic in May 2021, as a minor, with her mother signing as her guardian. Michelle was 28 weeks pregnant at the time and needed health and nutritional benefits so she could regularly visit her doctor for pregnancy appointments and make sure […]
Mrs. Martinez’s son Jason was 13 years old when he passed away from a severe illness. Jason was in the hospital from December 2020 to January 2021. With medical bills piling up, Mrs. Martinez applied for Medicaid and was never sent an approval or denial letter for the deceased child. While he was still living, the hospital continuously reached out to collect the mounting debt and insensitive phone calls were the last thing Mrs. Martinez […]
In September of 2019–two short years after Hurricane Harvey– the Texas Gulf Coast was hit with Tropical Storm Imelda. The storm lasted through the weekend and was dubbed the worst storm in Texas since Harvey, leaving in its wake 5 deaths and innumerable losses. The heavy rainfall shut down most roadways and flooded vehicles, buildings, and homes. Imelda hit hardest […]