Lee County Legal Aid Society INC

1.family law - since 1967, lee county legal aid society has founded its legal reputation on the representation of families with minor children involved. Protecting the rights and welfare of vulnerable children during and after divorce has been a fundamental cause of the organization. In the fiscal year 2023-2024, our organization served 226 people with family law issues and recovered 436,177.07 in 26 cases with outcomes that affected families. There were 47 family law cases remaining open at the end of the fiscal year. 2.immigration law - arpa grant-funded 30-month program continuation. The immigration program is one of the fastest-growing projects undertaken by lee county legal aid society, to date. Initiated to help immigrant youth who have suffered neglect, abuse, or abandonment to become legal in the united states, through the special immigrant juvenile status (sijs) pathway to citizenship, children under age 18 are then protected from deportation from the united states. Aging out of foster care at 18, those youth who have been awarded sijs are able to find employment, rent a place to live, and continue to live and work their way toward full citizenship. In fiscal 2024, lee county legal aid society served 239 people with immigration issues, including children and families. There were 40 immigration cases remaining open at the end of the fiscal year. 3.housing law - as a result of catastrophic hurricane ian, the housing law program sought to advise and represent those whose homes were destroyed or so badly damaged that insurance and contractor issues were deemed predatory and often fraudulent. Landlord/tenant issues also arose in great number, due to the unscrupulous avarice of landlords who were ready to evict good tenants so the landlord could increase rent in a scarce housing market. Problems clients faced with unsafe living conditions and property loss continue to need legal advice, to date. 44 people with housing issues were served in fiscal year 2023, exclu