Every year, natural disasters claim hundreds of lives and cause billions of dollars in damage. When hurricanes, flooding, wildfires, and other calamities strike, disaster response organizations and emergency medical personnel rush to the scene to provide immediate assistance and relief. Lawyers—called third responders in this important book—also play a crucial role in disaster response.
Legal challenges can haunt disaster survivors for years as they seek to replace legal identification papers such as birth certificates, driver’s licenses, and Social Security cards; apply for disaster benefits; and deal with insurance claims issues. Many survivors face a variety of other legal issues involving their housing, from preventing unlawful evictions and foreclosures to combating contractor scams. Some survivors need assistance with school transfers and transportation and with obtaining food stamps and public assistance. Timely legal assistance can make all the difference, especially for low-income survivors who cannot easily withstand long delays in getting assistance and benefits.
Meeting the legal needs of disaster survivors requires coordinated response and preparation. The ABA Young Lawyers Division (YLD) has played a leading role in developing programs to meet these needs. YLD administers the Disaster Legal Services Program (DLS) with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and provides seminars, websites, instructional videos, resource guides, and instruction manuals for both pro bono and legal aid lawyers.
The book Meeting the Legal Needs of Disaster Survivors is the latest development in YLD’s efforts. The ten essays included in this book range from overviews of the need for pro bono disaster legal assistance and the roles of the organized bar associations and civil legal services providers in meeting it, to informative, nut-and-bolts guides on specific issues in disaster legal aid—such as navigating flood insurance claims, dealing with post-disaster housing and tax issues, and understanding the specific needs of vulnerable populations.
In chapter 1, Disaster Services, Andrew Jack VanSingel presents a brief history of the DLS program, which provides free legal assistance to low- and moderate-income disaster survivors. DLS works closely with the Legal Services Corporation (LSC) and the ABA Committee on Disaster Response and Preparedness (SCDRP) to ensure that legal services providers are essential partners in the DLS delivery program. Chapter 1 describes how DSL operates and how attorneys can prepare themselves to volunteer with the program.
