Originally posted on The Florida Bar News on January 9th, 2025.
A roundtable discussion that convened leaders from across Florida to explore strategies for enhancing legal aid for disaster survivors was recently hosted by Community Legal Services in October 2024 at its Orlando office.
The event united representatives from the U.S. Department of Justice Office for Access to Justice, Osceola County Emergency Management, bar associations, and legal aid organizations, all dedicated to addressing the unique challenges faced by Floridians in the aftermath of disasters.
“As lawyers, a fundamental part of our role and commitment to the public is serving those in need at a time when they need it the most,” said Ashlea Edwards, president of The Florida Bar’s Young Lawyers Division. “The Disaster Relief Roundtable demonstrated this beautifully when relevant voices in disaster legal services came together to discuss how we can continue to improve the services that we provide before, during, and after disasters. Thank you to Community Legal Services for inviting The Florida Bar Young Lawyers Division to be a part of this unparalleled conversation.”
The roundtable fostered dialogue on creating a collaborative, multi-level disaster legal aid response system to tackle the legal and humanitarian challenges that arise after disasters. Participants emphasized the importance of expanding services and improving access to legal aid to support disaster survivors effectively.
Participants prioritized key areas for improvement, including:
- Strengthening the connection between disaster survivors and legal aid services.
- Enhancing volunteer recruitment initiatives to support disaster relief efforts.
- Expanding the disaster relief hotlines that link survivors to critical legal resources.
- Planning proactively for disasters, particularly for vulnerable populations, such as people with disabilities and non-English speakers.
- Systemic challenges in resource coordination and service delivery across regions.
The discussion also addressed the increased ability to serve disaster survivors because of the Supreme Court’s rule on IOTA funding, and funds set aside by Funding Florida Legal Aid specifically to serve disaster survivors.
“Having a conversation with all these organizations about the need for legal services following a disaster and the good work that is already being done, especially on the heels of two hurricanes in Florida, is tremendous,” said roundtable host Jeff Harvey, CEO of Community Legal Services. “The effort to support Floridians in this way has really grown over the last five years, thanks to the leadership from The Florida Bar, the ABA, LSC, and all the legal aids across Florida. I cannot wait to see how this support continues to grow. I appreciate the interest from the Department of Justice and its director Rachel Rossi in learning more and her willingness to support such a truly statewide effort.”
Among the attendees were:
- Ashlea Edwards, president of The Florida Bar’s Young Lawyers Division;
- Donny MacKenzie, executive director, FFLA;
- Shrushti Kothari, vice director of implementations for the ABA Young Lawyers Division’s Disaster Legal Services Program;
- Jeff Harvey, CEO of Community Legal Services;
- Leslie Powell-Boudreaux, executive director, Legal Services of North Florida;
- Bethanie Barber, executive director, Legal Aid Society of the Orange County Bar Association;
- Jena Hudson, deputy director, Bay Area Legal Services; and
- Kristine Hansen, disaster grants program counsel, Office of Program Performance, Legal Services Corporation.