Lawyers help homeless in volunteer program

Corporate lawyers Henry Levi and Meghan Outz aren’t accustomed to meeting their clients in a garage.

They’re not used to working for free, either.

Conversely, the men and women seeking aid through the Metro Atlanta Task Force for the Homeless tend to be suspicious of attorneys.

“Many have never even met with a lawyer before,” said Levi, who coordinates pro bono work for Baker Donelson’s Atlanta office.

His firm operates the free legal clinic that recently set up shop in the sprawling old garage on the corner of Peachtree and Pine streets, headquarters of the homeless task force.

Each week, attorneys offer counsel to those who need it, following a successful model that debuted four years ago in New Orleans and is slowly expanding nationwide.

Establishing trust is the first challenge. In many cases, rightly or not, the law has worked against the homeless.

“There’s a doubt that anything can be fixed,” said task force director Anita Beaty, a longtime advocate for the poor. “They’re almost resigned to defeat.”

And these days, with arrest records and credit scores available at the click of a mouse, second chances aren’t so easily granted.

“We’re dealing with real-life consequences,” said Outz, an attorney who specializes in employment and labor issues with Baker Donelson.

“We’ve had people come in who are just trying to get a driver’s license,” she said. “These are things we take for granted, but if you don’t know how the system works, it can be overwhelming.”

Student volunteer Seth Clark coordinates on the task force’s end, careful not to waste the volunteers’ time with irrational requests. “We vet them closely,” he said.

In its first month, the program has served roughly 30 people. Among its success stories: a longtime substance abuser – an addict for 36 years, Clark said – who finally kicked his habit two years ago.

He’s since saved $10,000, enough to get approval for a $115,000 mortgage loan. He’s looking to buy his first house, though navigating the closing process has proven daunting.

“He left with his confidence at a new high because he has an attorney on his side throughout the process helping him make the best decisions,” Clark said.

He and other clients declined to be interviewed for this story, saying they did not wish to be identified.

The lawyer-volunteers say they are careful not to offer solutions.

“Just answers,” Outz said. “We don’t make any promises we can’t keep. The last thing we want them to think is, ‘Here’s another person who says they’re going to help me and then disappears.’ They may not like the answer, but we’re going to give them the truth.”