LSHV receives grant from PCSB Community Foundation

WHITE PLAINS, NY -- Legal Services of the Hudson Valley (LSHV), the only provider of comprehensive civil legal services to those that cannot afford it in the seven counties of the lower and mid-Hudson Valley, was awarded a first-time $5,000 grant from the PCSB Community Foundation in support of our Homelessness Prevention for Children and Families Project.

The need for housing civil legal services in the Hudson Valley is clear. In 2015, the New York State Office of the State Comptroller reported over 13,385 Hudson Valley homes in foreclosure. The report also stated that the Mid-Hudson Valley has the second-highest foreclosure rate of NYS regions after Long Island. And a June 25th The Journal News article entitled “Student Homelessness is growing in Westchester” pointed out that homeless students now make up 2% of the public school population – a number that has increased 48% in just six years.

Homelessness Prevention is LSHV’s largest practice area, accounting for almost 45% of the total cases handled. Agency-wide, LSHV handled 6,576 housing cases impacting 16,417 family members in 2017.

Speaking of the grant, LSHV’s Chief Development Officer, Tom Gabriel, said “We are so excited about this new partnership and grateful to the People’s United Community Foundation for this generous support, which will enable us to prevent homelessness for hundreds of our neighbors in the Hudson Valley.”

Founded in 1967, LSHV is the only provider in the Hudson Valley of free, comprehensive, legal services in civil matters (noncriminal) for individuals and families who cannot afford an attorney when their basic human needs are at stake. This includes urgent legal needs such as: housing emergencies (eviction and foreclosure prevention), domestic violence (orders of protection, child custody, etc.), healthcare, children's law and advocacy, disability and benefits, elder law, consumer fraud and more. In pursuit of this mission, LSHV maintains a staff of 145 individuals, including 90 attorneys and 30 paralegals working across nine offices throughout our service area.

For more information about Legal Services of the Hudson Valley, to volunteer, or contribute, please visit www.lshv.org, or contact Tom Gabriel, Chief Development Officer, at 914-949-1305 ext 160.

Pictured here (L-R): PCSB’s Clifford Weber, General Counsel, Chief Risk Officer at PCSB, and Joseph D. Roberto, Chairman, President & CEO with LSHV’s CEO Barbara Finkelstein and CDO Tom Gabriel