Latest News

Three Lone Star Legal Aid staffers attended the Legal Server conference hosted by Servicios Legales de Puerto Rico this week in San Juan, Puerto Rico. This trip was important for two reasons: increasing access to justice using technology through our soon-to-launch new case management system and digging deeper into disaster legal aid and recovery by comparing our Hurricane Harvey experience […]

Houston, TX – Lone Star Legal Aid’s Low Income Taxpayer Clinic, together with volunteer attorneys from BP America and Vorys, Sater, Seymour, and Pease LLP, hosted its first-ever – Offers in Compromise Pro Bono Clinic this past Saturday at Baker Ripley’s Tax Center. LSLA has a relationship with BP and Vorys as they are the sponsors for Lisa Virgen, an […]

Houston, TX – Lone Star Legal Aid has been awarded a $1,200,000 grant as part of the Hurricane Harvey Relief Fund, administered through the Greater Houston Community Foundation.  Lone Star Legal Aid is one of 27 local nonprofits that provide services to Houston and Harris County flood victims. Round 4’s focus is on four primary areas of service; home repair […]

National Environmental Education Foundation (NEEF) celebrates the 14th annual Environmental Education Week this week, April 23rd – 29th, 2018.  NEEF partners with a wide range of organizations to inspire educational learning and encourage stewardship of our essential resources: land, air, and water.  Lone Star Legal Aid’s Environmental Justice team participates this year by sharing information about brownfields, a type of […]

“We are all just one disaster away from needing the services we provide” – Jai Collier, Directing Attorney – Hurricane Harvey Disaster Pro Bono Program National Volunteer Week, organized annually by Points of Light, is an opportunity to celebrate the impact of volunteer service and the power of volunteers when they come together to tackle challenges being faced in our […]

Houston, TX – Lone Star Legal Aid’s Military Veterans Unit and Civil Matters in Criminal Justice Project are hosting an Expunction and Non-Disclosure Clinic on Wednesday, April 18, 2018, from 10:00 am until 12:00 pm, at Combined Arms. Combined Arms is located at 2929 McKinney St, Houston, TX 77003. Attorneys will be present to help with: • Obtaining IDs; • ALR […]

“The most authentic thing about us is our capacity to create, to overcome, to endure, to transform, to love and to be greater than our suffering.” – BEN OKRI (1959–) National Crime Victim Rights Week (NCVRW) is April 8-14, 2018. One week each April we dedicate to learning more about victimization and its impact on individuals, families and our communities and to […]

Everywhere, USA – This month, Lone Star Legal Aid will engage with the broader community as part of Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM). This year’s theme, “Embrace Your Voice” builds on the idea that we are stronger together and that new organizations and community members are needed to expand sexual assault prevention efforts and help the next generation foster attitudes that promote healthy relationships, […]

March 11-17, 2018 is National Groundwater Awareness Week. With our commitment to a fair distribution of environmental benefits and burdens as well as equal protection from environmental hazards, we must spread the word about groundwater. According to Kevin McCray, Executive Director of the National Groundwater Association, “Some 44 percent of the U.S. population depends on Groundwater, the water that fills […]

Debt goes hand in hand with credit.  When you borrow money to buy something, you have to pay it back.  Once a creditor thinks you are no longer going to pay them, they can sell your account (or your debt) to a third party.  Why would they do that? When they do, they get paid a smaller amount in exchange […]

Your credit score and the information on your credit report are important in determining whether you’ll be able to get a mortgage, credit card, auto loan or other credit.  It also determines the interest rate you pay for such credit. What is a credit report? Your credit report is a statement or record that has information about your credit activity […]

March 4-10, 2018 is the Federal Trade Commission’s National Consumer Protection Week! In honor of such, we’ve come up with several consumer-related topics of interest.  After all, we are all consumers.     Whether you got a loan from your bank or you plan on executing a retail installment contract with your dealer, you must know to look for or […]

Bryan/College Station, Texas – In cooperation with Post # 159 American Legion, Lone Star Legal Aid will be participating in a resource fair for all veterans and their families on Saturday, March 3, 2018, from 9 am until 12 pm. The event will be located at Post #159 American Legion, located at 101 Waco St. in Bryan, Texas. Texas Workforce […]

After a disaster, scammers, con artists, and identity thieves often attempt to take advantage of vulnerable survivors.  Suspicion should rise if you receive a phone call from someone claiming to be FEMA when you have not applied for FEMA benefits or if you apply and are told you already have. According to the FTC, they’ve been receiving multiple complaints from […]

Lone Star Legal Aid’s Environmental Justice Team joined other clean air advocates at the Air Alliance of Houston‘s State of the Air Gala on Wednesday, February 21, 2018, at the Houston Health Museum. In attendance were former Mayor Bill White and Dr. Robert Bullard. The team enjoyed presentations on the latest air quality and environmental issues and a sampling of […]

There are countless circumstances that can lead to homeowners falling behind on their mortgages.  Hurricane Harvey has forced thousands of coastal Texans into financial hardship.  When going through a hardship, homeowners might want to ask for a break from their lender and at that time, they could be offered a forbearance. What is forbearance? The definition of forbearance is an […]

Taxpayers who have received an audit notice from the Internal Revenue Service might be in luck if there are doubts about their liability or collectability.  There are even other exceptional circumstances for the IRS to accept what is called an Offer in Compromise.  Lone Star Legal Aid’s Low Income Taxpayer Clinic can help with this! What is an Offer in […]

Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month was created to engage, educate, and empower young people to prevent and end abusive relationships.  Everyone deserves to be in a safe and healthy relationship. You can help make that happen by raising awareness about the issue, saying something about abuse when you see it and organizing your friends to make a difference. Remember to wear #orange4love on […]

Tax season may just be getting started, but tax scammers have been hard at work. In fact, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has gotten thousands of complaints about one kind of scammer in particular — IRS imposters. Here’s how they work: scammers posing as IRS officials call and say you owe taxes. They threaten to arrest or deport you, revoke […]

It’s that time of year — tax time. It’s also a great time to get up to speed on tax-related scams. Here are two ways tax scammers might target you and what you can do about it: Tax identity theft This kind of identity theft happens when someone files a fake tax return using your personal information — like your […]