ABA YLD Update

Texas lawyers and FEMA partner up to bring relief to flood victims

Over the past several months, Tropical Storm Bill and other violent storms have brought a deluge of rain that has wreaked havoc across the State of Texas.  As a result, many people suffered property damage caused by flooding, downed trees, and other storm-related problems, and many low-income Texans now require legal assistance.  In response to this crisis, the State Bar of Texas, the ABA YLD, and FEMA have partnered to help bring relief to storm victims by implementing the Disaster Legal Services (DLS) response plan.

The DLS plan is a coordinated effort to provide free legal aid on legal issues arising directly from natural disasters.  The type of legal aid provided through this response plan includes:

Assistance securing FEMA and other government benefits available to disaster victims;

Assistance with life, medical, and property insurance claims;

Help with home repair contracts and contractors;

Replacement of wills and other important legal documents lost or destroyed in the disaster;

Consumer protection issues such as price-gouging and avoiding contractor scams in the rebuilding process;

Counseling on mortgage-foreclosure problems; and

Counseling on landlord-tenant problems.

As part of the effort, the State Bar is offering a 24/7 toll-free hotline (800-504-7030) for storm victims in need of legal aid.  However, what has been especially problematic for many flood victims is that they live in rural areas where the demand for legal aid significantly outweighs the number of available volunteer and pro bono attorneys.  If you or someone you know is interested in volunteering their time to assist in this effort, please have them register at the State Bar of Texas website.

To date, federal assistance has been extended to 59 affected Texas counties, including Angelina, Archer, Atascosa, Bastrop, Baylor, Blanco, Bowie, Burleson, Caldwell, Cass, Cherokee, Clay, Comal, Comanche, Cooke, Denton, Fannin, Fayette, Gaines, Garza, Gillespie, Grayson, Grimes, Harris, Harrison, Hays, Henderson, Hood, Houston, Jasper, Johnson, Kaufman, Kendall, Lamar, Lee, Liberty, Lynn, Madison, Milam, Montague, Nacogdoches, Navarro, Newton, Polk, Refugio, Rusk, Sabine, San Jacinto, Travis, Tyler, Uvalde, Walker, Wharton, Williamson, Wilson, Wise, Van Zandt, and Zavala.  

For additional information on the Texas DLS response plan and ways you can help, please visit the State Bar of Texas website at texasbar.com/floodresponse or the ABA YLD website.