By the Numbers 009
Thousands Seek Free Disaster Legal Services (DLS)
Release Date: November 19, 2008
Release Number: 1791-269
» More Information on Texas Hurricane Ike
AUSTIN, Texas -- Free legal advice is available to some disaster-affected Texans who are unable to secure legal services after Hurricane Ike. The federally-funded program for low-income individuals is run under an agreement between the American Bar Associations Young Lawyers Division and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
| NUMBER | LEGAL ASSISTANCE ACTIVITY |
|---|---|
| 35,081 | Number of calls to the DLS hotline |
| 3,213 | Referrals from disaster recovery centers |
| 519 | Highest number referrals at one center |
| 98 | Number of volunteer lawyers |
| 27 | Average number of referrals per center |
There are some limitations, but services typically include assistance with insurance claims, counseling on landlord problems, help with consumer protection matters, as well as replacement of wills and other important legal documents destroyed in a major disaster. The Disaster Legal Services Hotline is 1-800-504-7030.
FEMA coordinates the federal governments role in preparing for, preventing, mitigating the effects of, responding to, and recovering from all domestic disasters, whether natural or man-made, including acts of terror.
Last Modified: Wednesday, 19-Nov-2008 19:00:29