The project will engage practicing attorneys to provide LIFT clients with free legal services that they otherwise would not be able to afford in sustained, intensive relationships. LIFT anticipates that the most needed legal services will range from combating injustices in housing, to managing financial crises, navigating the immigration system, or escaping domestic violence.
The project came to fruition through a unique cross-generational commitment to community service. Lobel, a Tufts graduate and partner at Prince Lobel Glovsky & Tye LLP, had heard about his daughter Annie’s work as a student volunteer advocate with LIFT-Somerville and the myriad stories of her clients and their struggles to secure subsidized housing, public benefits, and legal assistance. Inspired by his daughter’s dedication to seeing her clients succeed and her unique experience navigating a complicated social service network, Lobel identified a need within LIFT offices for quality legal assistance for local low-income families and reached out to TLA and Tisch College to spearhead a pro bono program, the first of its kind for the TLA-Tisch partnership.
Lobel said, “The experience for the students providing services is enormous; they learn how to interview, instill confidence in their clients, identify the matters at issue, advocate, and problem solve. But sometimes they learn that they need legal help to serve their clients, which is where this project can help."
The awards ceremony will take place at the offices of Burn & Levinson LLP at 6:30pm. For more information, click here.
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About LIFT:
LIFT is a growing movement to combat poverty and expand opportunity for all people in the United States. LIFT currently runs centers staffed by trained volunteers in Boston, Chicago, New York, Philadelphia, and Washington, DC, to serve low-income individuals and families. Since LIFT's founding in 1998, over 5,000 volunteers have served more than 30,000 individuals and families.
Locally, LIFT-Somerville recruits student volunteers from Tufts University to work one-on-one with Boston-area clients to find jobs, secure safe and stable housing, access public benefits and tax credits, and obtain quality referrals for services like childcare and healthcare. Simultaneously, the LIFT experience pushes volunteers to grapple with the region’s most challenging issues related to poverty, race, inequality and policy. For more information, visit www.liftcommunities.org.
About the Tisch College of Citizenship and Public Service:
The Jonathan M. Tisch College of Citizenship and Public Service is a national leader in civic education, whose model and research are setting the standard for higher education’s role in civic engagement. Serving every student at Tufts University, Tisch College prepares young people to be lifelong active citizens and creates an enduring culture of active citizenship.
About the Tufts Lawyer Association:
The Tufts Lawyers Association ("TLA") is an organization of Tufts alumni in the legal profession designed to serve the Tufts University community while providing networking opportunities for members. Formed in 2003, the TLA is among the first professional alumni chapters of the Tufts University Alumni Association.
