Actions Speak Louder than Words: Responding to Disaster Survivors’ Needs amid COVID-19

Watch a non-CLE free webinar replay that will take you through the step-by-step process of what triggers the Disaster Legal Services (DLS) program, how the program is implemented, and what that looks like on the back-end. The speakers will also take a closer look at the current federal restrictions on the DLS program in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic and discuss how states can implement their own state-wide COVID-19 hotline. 

Working in the disaster realm in my day job and as a volunteer, along with my hurricane experience as a Floridian, you could say I was well prepared for the next disaster. At least, I thought I was before the COVID-19 pandemic swept across the United States. While the word pandemic does not appear in the Stafford Act definition of a disaster, that doesn’t make it any less of a disaster, especially in terms of the resulting legal needs. Attorneys, regardless of status or position, from the public or private sectors, play a critical role in responding to the legal needs of individuals facing hardship amid a worldwide pandemic. Rather than confronting these needs alone, our disaster community is addressing these needs as a larger legal community.