Women taking legal matters into their own hands through workshops

The YWCA of Northwest Louisiana and Legal Services of North Louisiana have partnered to address the needs of the underserved who can’t afford private attorneys in civil cases through a series of workshops, “Representing Yourself: Five Things Every Self-Represented Litigant Should Know.”

“The workshops will provide certain forms to file for divorce, information to identify the proper court, how to progress a lawsuit, how to serve a defendant and how to present information to the judge or court,” said LSNL attorney I. J. Clark-Sam.

Clark-Sam is the supervising attorney of the Family Law Unit of LSNL. She and LSNL staff attorney Brittany J. McKeel teach the classes, provide necessary forms and help attendees settle legal problems, represent themselves pro se (on their own behalf) and in some cases learn how to protect themselves before legal problems arise.

“The YWCA began a partnership with Legal Services of North Louisiana in the fall of 2015 and has provided community workshops on a variety of topics such as identity theft and consumer scams, divorce and marriage, future planning (wills, powers of attorney) and self-representation. Plans are under way to also partner with the Shreveport Bar Association to expand the legal education program,” said Rachel Scott, YWCA Board president.

After serving the area since 1925, the YWCA Northwest Louisiana hit a rough spot and closed in 2010.

“The YWCA Northwest Louisiana closed due to management and financial issues, but a few members of the board of directors continued to meet to begin rebuilding the YWCA,” said Scott.

The local chapter is affiliated with the national YWCA and shares many of the same goals, including “empowerment resources to help women and teen girls including legal, financial and parenting education, leadership and development programs, as well as counseling and prevention services,” Scott said.

The next workshop, set for Aug. 4, is “Representing Yourself – What You Need to Know.” Other workshops scheduled for the first Thursday of September, October and November include identity theft and scams, estate planning (wills, powers of attorney, probate, etc.) and “Marriage 101.”

“Attorneys will assist as many attendees as possible inside the time constraints of the program,” said Clark-Sam, noting other resources may be available. “Those resources will be identified and explored during the workshops.” Anyone can contact LSNL to determine if they are eligible for services.

LSNL now serves 26 of the 64 parishes of Louisiana. The Family Law Unit was started by LSNL last year to help litigants represent themselves in divorce proceedings. So far, more than 200 clients and community members from the parishes it serves have been helped through the program.

“Support services for homeless women in partnership with HOPE Connections began in early 2015, and the LEAD [Leadership, Empowerment and Development] program for at-risk teen girls was started in public schools in 2015. Today, counseling services for victims of crime and educational programs [legal and parenting] are offered as well as ‘Dialogue on Race,’ a six-week facilitated group series that addresses issues of race and racism,” Scott said. She hopes that dialogue will continue after the last of this series ends on Aug. 16.

“Marriage 101 encourages attendees to consider various topics before marriage, such as estate planning, blending families, financial wellness, powers-of-attorney, medical directives and name options,” Clark- Sam said. That workshop is set for 5:30 p.m. Nov. 3 at the YWCA.

The outreach to young women and girls continues 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Aug. 20 with “Take Care, Don’t Overshare,” a workshop about Internet privacy led by a juveniles and sex crimes detective. The workshops are free.

–Kathleen Ward

For more inFormation:

The YWCA is located at 850-B Olive St. in Shreveport. For more information and to register, contact the YWCA at 550-4417 or LSNL at 222-7186.