LSHV receives $7,820 grant from the New York Bar Foundation

WHITE PLAINS, NY – Legal Services of the Hudson Valley (LSHV), the only provider of comprehensive civil legal services to those that cannot afford an attorney in the seven counties of the lower and mid-Hudson Valley, has been awarded a $7,820 grant from the New York Bar Foundation for our Domestic Violence services in Dutchess, Orange, and Ulster Counties.

LSHV works with survivors of domestic violence in civil legal proceedings in local family courts, including family offense, custody, visitation, child support and divorce proceedings. LSHV’s Domestic Violence Unit impacts not only the lives of the individual clients it serves, but the entire community they live in. For example, an abused mother may finally leave her abuser but have no financial resources or guarantee of safety, so she becomes homeless. Her children grow up in an environment that isn’t stable, safe, or healthy, and often they will end up dropping out of school and reducing their chances to provide for themselves. The community carries the cost of feeding and sheltering the family. LSHV’s advocacy can stop this cycle of damage before it starts, and therefore has an immeasurable impact on both the family itself and the larger community.

Speaking of the grant, LSHV’s CEO, Barbara Finkelstein, said, “We thank our longstanding partner, the New York Bar Foundation, for their ongoing support of our work. Thanks to this grant, hundreds of Dutchess, Orange, and Ulster County individuals and families will receive critical legal assistance to keep them safe from domestic violence and abuse.”

A long-time supporter of LSHV, the New York Bar Foundation makes grants to financially support law-related programs of legal services organizations, nonprofits, bar associations and other organizations throughout New York State. Foundation grants assist in:
• Increasing public understanding of the law
• Improving the justice system and the law
• Facilitating the delivery of legal services
• Enhancing professional competence and ethics

LSHV is the only provider of free, comprehensive civil (non-criminal) legal services to low-income and disadvantaged individuals and families who cannot afford an attorney when their basic human needs are at stake. This includes urgent legal needs such as: domestic violence (orders of protection, child custody, etc.), housing emergencies (eviction and foreclosure prevention), healthcare, children's law and advocacy, disability and benefits, elder law, consumer fraud and more. Founded more than 50 years ago, LSHV serves the seven counties of the lower and mid-Hudson Valley (Westchester, Putnam, Dutchess, Rockland, Orange, Ulster and Sullivan), maintaining a staff of 145 individuals – including 90 attorneys and 30 paralegals – working across ten offices throughout its service area. For more information, visit www.lshv.org.

Photo (L-R): Ellis Mirsky, Member of the New York Bar Foundation Board of Directors with LSHV's Chief Program Officer, Rachel Halperin, and Chief Development Officer, Tom Gabriel.