Legal Services of the Hudson Valley receives $10,000 grant from The Thomas and Agnes Carvel Foundation

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 recently awarded a $10,000 grant from The Thomas and Agnes Carvel Foundation in support of the organization’s Children’s Advocacy Program in Westchester.

Children living in poverty are vulnerable and voiceless when their basic rights to family/home safety and security, disability services, healthcare, education and other benefits are threatened or removed. Through LSHV’s Children's Advocacy Program, the organization provides free legal representation in civil matter to children living in poverty on issues such as abuse and neglect, kinship care, foster care, adoption, child support, disability law, healthcare, special education and housing needs. In 2016, LSHV handled 258 Children's Advocacy cases in Westchester, impacting almost 900 household members.

“In Westchester, where one in four children live at or below 200% of the Federal Income Poverty Guideline level, we are encouraged that The Thomas and Agnes Carvel Foundation continues to play such an important role in improving the lives of children and families right here in the community we all share,” said LSHV’s Chief Development Officer, Tom Gabriel.

The mission of LSHV is to provide free, high-quality counsel in civil matters where basic human needs are at stake for poor and low-income individuals and families who cannot afford an attorney. With the gap separating those who can and cannot afford legal representation widening each day, we work to engage as many allies as possible in this effort. LSHV is the only provider of comprehensive civil legal services to all seven counties of the lower Hudson Valley (Westchester, Putnam, Dutchess, Rockland, Orange, Ulster and Sullivan). The work we do each day provides justice to thousands of our neighbors who have nowhere else to turn. Our funding empowers us to: Protect people from domestic violence; Defend seniors against abuse; Serve veterans on the home front; Support the rights of the disabled; Keep families in their homes.

Pictured: Legal Services of the Hudson Valley’s CEO, Barbara Finkelstein, and Chief Development Officer, Tom Gabriel, thank Peter Smith, (center) President of The Thomas and Agnes Carvel Foundation.