News and stories about our work advancing civil legal rights for low-income Texans.
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Natalie Cochran met with Christian Pineda and Elizabeth Green from Lone Star Legal Aid to discuss what the public charge rule is in Texas and how it affects immigrants and their families, including their children, from accessing critical government services available to them. Listen here starting at 52:20.
In observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Lone Star Legal Aid will be closed. All offices will reopen on Tuesday, January 18th, 2022. Texans can still apply for free legal help online at www.lonestarlegal.org.
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 […]
As of January 1, 2022, veterans who receive 100% disability compensation are eligible for a new homestead tax exemption. What is a homestead exemption? Homestead exemptions remove part of your home’s value from taxation, so they lower your taxes. For example, your home is appraised at $100,000, and you qualify for a $25,000 exemption (this is the amount mandated for […]
Lone Star Legal Aid Staff will present two sessions at the Legal Services Corporation’s Innovations in Technology Conference 2022 (ITC22). The ITC22 will be a fully virtual event beginning on January 12, 2022. The Innovations in Technology Conference grew out of LSC’s Technology Initiative Grant (TIG) Program, which seeks to expand access to justice by promoting technological innovations in legal services […]
Houston, TX – The No Surprises Act (NSA) establishes new federal protections against surprise medical bills. If you’ve ever received a surprise bill after a trip to an emergency room, after thinking it would be covered by insurance, it was due to something called balanced billing. Balance billing occurs when an insured patient receives care from a physician, hospital or […]
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 […]
Conroe, TX – Susan Soto, a staff attorney in our Conroe Branch Office, participated in the Houston Bar Association’s 25th Annual AIDS Outreach Holiday Adopt-a-Family Project last month. 85 law firms, legal departments and individual donors provided holiday gifts for 128 families in need. This includes a record 484 individuals (194 adults and 290 children), making it the HBA’s biggest […]
Lone Star Legal Aid wishes you and yours a Happy New Year. In observance of the holiday, Lone Star Legal Aid will be closed. All offices will reopen on Tuesday, January 4th, 2022. Texans can still apply for free legal help online at www.lonestarlegal.org.
Lone Star Legal Aid wishes you and yours a Merry Christmas. In observance of the holiday, Lone Star Legal Aid will be closed. All offices will reopen on Tuesday, December 28th, 2021. Texans can still apply for free legal help online at www.lonestarlegal.org.
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 […]
Texas families with students who previously qualified for Pandemic Food Benefits (or the P-EBT Card) should check their balance for a recent rollout in funds for the summer of 2021. Eligible families should have already received $375 per child. These benefits act as SNAP benefits. Who is eligible? Children who are certified for free or reduced-price meals through the National […]
The rise in recent school shootings Mass school shootings are a traumatic event that can potentially trigger mental health disorders, such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), in people directly impacted by a violent threat, such as a school shooting. Studies show that adolescent trauma has more lifelong effects on young people with developing brains. This causes them to struggle […]
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 […]
Port Arthur, Texas – John Beard, the President of PA-CAN (Port Arthur Community Action Network), a community group client of our Environmental Justice Team, is being recognized for his environmental advocacy with two 2021 Awards, the FracTracker Alliance’s 2021 Community Sentinel Award for Environmental Stewardship and the Climate Law Institute’s 2021 Rose Braz Award for Bold Activism. The Community Sentinel […]
Houston, TX – Following statewide guidance, public libraries are now open at 75% capacity. Masks are required to enter all government facilities. If you do not have a mask, the library will provide one free of charge. Aside from offering access to physical collections of books and movies to browse and check out, public libraries also offer computer access, printing […]
While 4 and 5G networks are available, many older adults and low-income individuals use older cell phones, life alerts or other devices that still use 3G networks. 3G Wireless Networks are scheduled to shut down in 2022, which will prevent 3G cell phone users from placing and receiving calls, and cutting off their access to data. Each mobile carrier plans […]
Doctors diagnosed Joseph with Progressive Glaucoma, which is an eye condition that causes damage to the optic nerve resulting in permanent vision loss. He was told his eyesight would gradually fade over several years until he was blind, but little did he know he would be involved in an accident that would dramatically change his life sooner than he thought. […]
Mary’s insurance denied her the coverage she needed to keep seeking treatment and surgeries for the genetic illness that she was diagnosed with when she was born. Von Hipple Landau (VHL) is a type of cancer that causes malignant tumors to form in multiple organs of the body which initiated her permanent blindness in 2007. She also experiences numbness, weaknesses […]
The six top holiday scams Charity Scams: If a website wants donations in cash or gift cards, don’t do it! Charity scams pop up around the holidays. Scammers can trick you into paying them by thanking you for a donation you never made. They may also appear legitimate by their name, but always research them first to find out where their […]
