Attorneys volunteer in force to assist Katrina victims
By Tracy Carbasho
For The Lawyers Journal
Oct. 28, 2005—The Allegheny County Bar Association and the Allegheny County Bar Foundation showed their compassion by contributing time, energy, and money to help victims of Hurricane Katrina.
“The county’s response to one of the biggest U.S. natural disasters of our time has been nothing less than astonishing,” said Lorrie Albert, pro bono coordinator for the ACBF. “On Sept. 6, just one week after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, local officials were informed that a plane of evacuees would be arriving in Pittsburgh later in the week. Allegheny County began to develop resettlement plans for the victims to best help them deal with the shock of losing what they once called home and to help them restructure their lives.”
An emergency planning meeting was convened on Sept. 7 to coordinate the volunteer efforts of all organizations that offered assistance.
“It was astounding to see the number of diverse agencies willing to join efforts to provide assistance for this cause,” said Albert. “With the full support of these organizations, the county devised a detailed plan of action, identifying legal services as one of the necessary components of this plan.”
The ACBA and the ACBF developed a two-phase volunteer program that could be launched within 24 hours of the arrival of the evacuees. Albert explained that in the first phase each family was assigned one attorney as a point person. This so-called “triage” attorney conducted an initial assessment of the family’s needs.
The overflow of attorneys who volunteered their services prompted the ACBA to limit the first phase of the relief project to the Young Lawyers Division. More than 60 attorneys volunteered within the first two hours of the request. In the second phase, families with unresolved concerns were matched with attorneys who have experience in the relevant legal issues.
“In a coordinated effort among the organizations, the county’s plan was to greet evacuees at the airport and provide them with medical triage, transportation to and shelter at the Pittsburgh Project, an organization that had already prepared more than 300 beds,” said Albert. “On Sept. 12, a one-stop service center opened at the Pittsburgh Project.”
Organizations that set up booths at the center included the ACBA, the Department of Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry, Social Security Administration, Women Infants and Children, Internal Revenue Service, American Red Cross, Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Public Welfare, banking institutions, and the Department of Health’s Division of Public Records, Insurance, and Public Transportation.
“Pittsburgh did not receive a plane of evacuees as previously announced, but a number of families had come to the city on their own or to stay with extended family,” Albert said. “Each family who did arrive at the Pittsburgh Project was assigned a case manager and was guided through each booth to receive assistance.”
The center provided service for three weeks, offering assistance to 49 families.
“Each family had its own tale of survival, and their legal issues were far-reaching,” Albert said. “People were concerned about their jobs, future employment, entitlement to unemployment, enforcement of lease agreements, insurance coverage, status of pending litigation, mortgage payment deferrals and late fees, and homeowner responsibilities.”
The number of evacuees who came to Pittsburgh was not as large as originally anticipated and, therefore, the county’s action plan was never activated. Albert worked with the clients and received assistance from the ACBA volunteers, the Neighborhood Legal Services Association, and the Homer S. Brown Law Association.
“The bar foundation’s ability to collaborate with the county in assisting Hurricane Katrina evacuees would not have been possible without the many hours of time that Lorrie contributed as the pro bono coordinator,” said Mark Edwards, director of administration and development for the ACBF. “This is another example that illustrates the need for this pro bono coordinator position. She can serve as a conduit between the private bar and members of the community who are sometimes unaware of how to access resources.”
The ACBA was able to obtain emergency disaster training manuals from the Louisiana Bar Association and the Texas Bar Association’s Hurricane Katrina Task Force to assist with answers to many of the questions.
ACBA Executive Director David Blaner said the bar association donated $5,000 to the Mississippi Bar Foundation and $5,000 to the New Orleans Bar Association. The money will be used to help attorneys who were impacted by the hurricane get their offices up and running again so they can begin addressing the legal needs of other victims.
Blaner commended Mike Miller and Bill Sherman, who direct the ACBA’s information technology department, for their dedication in helping the Baton Rouge Bar Association. This particular association had purchased lawyer referral computer software from ACBA Services, Inc. in the past, but the system was destroyed during the hurricane.
Miller and Sherman were able to duplicate the software within 48 hours and the ACBA provided it free of charge to the Baton Rouge Bar Association.
“This is the type of disaster that affected everyone and not just a small segment of a community,” said Blaner. “It impacted all of the professions and all of the citizens in the Gulf Coast region. We had a responsibility to help them.”
Blaner said the New Orleans Bar Association was instrumental in helping the ACBA establish its pro bono program in the early 1990s. In fact, representatives from the New Orleans Bar Association, the American Bar Association, and an organization in Texas visited the city and made recommendations on how the ACBA could enhance its pro bono efforts. Assisting with the disaster relief effort was merely returning the favor of kindness.