Hakim* was severely persecuted in his home country for being gay. The ridicule and harassment he experienced was so severe that he was forced to drop out of school. The threat escalated and a mob, urged on by local leadership, murdered his father and his partner. Hakim himself barely escaped with his life. Hakim ended up in Indiana and that is when he sought help from the Neighborhood Christian Legal Clinic.

On this Memorial Day we remember those who have served our country and paid the ultimate price for our freedom and security. All of our brave veterans are heroes. Unfortunately some of them return home and face both financial and legal hardship. The Neighborhood Christian Legal Clinic is proud to partner with an organization called Helping Veterans and Families (HVAF). HVAF refers veterans directly to the Clinic for help with a variety of legal needs. 

“Our clients trusted the out-of-state return preparer and had no idea they were filing improperly,” according to Shawn Richter, Director of the Tax & Economic Justice Program at the Clinic. When the IRS caught wind of the scheme and opened an audit, the couple was overwhelmed at the idea of paying back a huge liability they could not afford. They also worried that it would destroy their credit and they would never be able to purchase a home. In their moment of greatest need the couple learned about the Neighborhood Christian Legal Clinic. 

Jasmine Smith couldn’t believe her eyes. She worked hard and needed her full paycheck just to get by. Now she was being presented with a claim to garnish her wages for a debt that she allegedly owed. Read on for the full story.

On a Saturday morning, Chloe M. went into her job, hoping to continue working her way up in the company. Instead she was told that a background check had come in which made her unqualified for promotion to management and, in fact, she was going to be terminated. Chloe’s pastor encouraged her and told her about the Clinic’s Expungement Help Desk.

I didn’t realize what an obstacle a criminal record really is. It’s hard to make any forward progress. It’s a wonder they don’t give up. Working here, you become a more compassionate person, because you’re exposed to peoples’ stories that you never would have known anything about.

It’s a cliché: Lawyers wear suits and ties. They carry briefcases and are serious with serious careers—the epitome of a grownup. Many days, this summary encapsulates precisely what I do. And I find the work fulfilling. But I also crave opportunities that shake up that routine, where I can use my education and stretch my legal muscles in service of the public good.

Two young women sat in Katy Strader’s office, describing what happened to them the previous weekend when an armed man broke into their home. It was only Katy’s first full week as a Bilingual Paralegal for the Victim Justice Program (VJP) and this new client intake was a jarring introduction to the work. Both girls were shaking and crying as they detailed the robbery, which had left a third friend in critical condition with a gunshot wound.

Director of Immigrant Services Rachel Van Tyle says, “Modest Means is a legal phrase that means lower cost services. Some may call it ‘low bono’ as opposed to pro bono. It means that there is usually a flat fee for a case.” And while the flat fee depends on the case type, the cost remains affordable.

The day the ICE raids were supposed to begin, Laura Pontius spoke to a group of immigrants who were gathered in a Catholic Church to learn about their legal rights and the most recent changes to immigration law. After her presentation, a man approached her and the priest. She recalls that the man was visibly afraid, but he had a message to share. “All of my family and friends are really scared about what’s going to happen,” he told her. “It brings us a lot of peace that there are people out there thinking about how we’re feeling and about how we might need certain resources right now.” As he spoke, Laura was struck by how many times the man thanked her. Again and again, he expressed his gratitude that members of the community cared about what happened to him and his family.

The words, “Don’t look back, you’re not going that way!” are stenciled on the far office wall of the Neighborhood Christian Legal Clinic’s Expungement Help Desk. These words also comprise a message we try to convey to those who step through our doors in the basement of the City County Building. Our visitors are ready to leave their past behind in search of a second chance. Perhaps they are unable to find a good job or a nice apartment to call home. Or perhaps they are prevented from seeking educational opportunities for career and life advancement.

In 1992, Dr. Frank Kik, Senior Pastor at Tabernacle Presbyterian Church, challenged the congregation to be “a force for Christ in the heart of the city.” In response to this challenge, a handful of volunteers established the Neighborhood Christian Legal Clinic. This small but mighty team of passionate volunteers committed to use their time, talents, and treasures to provide those living in the neighborhood with access to quality legal services.

One of the services we provide through our Low Income Taxpayer Clinic (LITC) is to represent people in the U.S. Tax Court. If you are selected for an IRS examination or audit, the IRS will take a closer look at your tax return to determine if there are any discrepancies or errors. At the end of this process, taxpayers are told if they still owe money. If they do not agree with the results of the IRS exam, they have 90 days to file in Tax Court.  

Oftentimes, the Clinic is able to help a client navigate the situation with a lender to get a modification or some other kind of workout to lower their mortgage payment. Additionally, depending on the hardships they have experienced, homeowners may be eligible for a reinstatement program called the Indiana Hardest Hit Fund. For Michael, discovering the best kind of workout for his clients is rewarding. “I enjoy collaborating with homeowners to bring about a lasting and sustainable change in what is often the single largest expense of a household,” he says. 

By the time Barbara Turner* contacted our Housing Department for assistance, she was over $10,000 behind on her mortgage payments. For the past year, she had endured many hardships that made her unable to afford her home, including domestic violence at the hands of her spouse. A stay-at-home mom to her three children, Barbara was determined to keep her family safe. And so she divorced her abusive husband and began to seek full-time employment. Paralegal Molly Howes Jefford says of this, “The loss of income from her divorce is in part why she struggled with maintaining her mortgage payments.”

On her office wall hangs a poster with a Dave Ramsey quote that says, “A budget is telling your money where to go instead of wondering where it went.” For Angie, a huge part of what she does is to convince people that they can actually live like that. “My job is showing people their financial reality,” she says. “It’s kind of a pre-goal setting. You might think of it like triage as if you were at a hospital. Let’s see where you are right this moment and where you want to go from there.”

Too often, a criminal record strips people of their power in our society. Some can’t find a job; some can’t drive. Some lose contact with their families; some have nowhere to live. Instead of talking to them, people end up talking about them. It’s dehumanizing and demoralizing--and that’s not how the Clinic wants to talk about our clients.