A man quietly wept as he sat in the waiting area of the Family Forms Clinic. Filling out forms with him – for reduction of his child support obligation – I learned he lost his job, then his housing and is living on the streets of downtown Tampa.
A woman I met through the Domestic Violence Assistance Project asked me to review an emergency motion she had drafted. Months earlier she obtained an injunction against her husband and was given exclusive use of their home. She moved out for a short time and her husband moved back in. She cited “extenuating circumstances” as the reason for her motion to regain possession of the home. Urging her to be more specific, I probed about the circumstances. Professional looking and neatly dressed, she reluctantly told me her work hours were cut leaving her insufficient funds for housing. She, and her teen age son, are homeless. He sleeps at a friend’s home – she in her car.
Over twenty years as a volunteer lawyer have not prepared me for the burgeoning number of homeless I see among our clients. Low income people are like tightrope walkers without a safety net. Tough economic times have made negotiating the walk of life perilous for this vulnerable population, with missteps impossible to avoid. The skills that served them well in the past prove ineffective, making their plunge seemingly inevitable.
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Nicely framed and executed, Rosemary. Well done. Gil
It is alarming that so many are so vulnerable in this community. BALS with its attorneys and volunteer lawyers like you are really making a profound difference.