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Legal Services Access Encompassing all of HPRP's programs is the deep understanding that people who are homeless often cannot access legal services in a traditional manner. To provide the most comprehensive services to HPRP's clients, HPRP staff and volunteer attorneys reach our clients where they live and eat. Volunteer attorneys, paralegals and students are a critical part of this effort and participate in one of three programs: 1) the Shelter Outreach Program, in which HPRP conducts intake at shelters and soup kitchens and provides representation in legal areas that will directly eliminate or prevent homelessness; 2) Specialized Task Forces, in which attorneys focus on one substantive legal issue affecting Maryland's homeless population, such as veterans' benefits; and 3) Systemic Advocacy Projects, in which staff and volunteers pursue systemic solutions to homelessness.
Housing and Shelter Preservation Project The root cause of homelessness is the lack of affordable housing, yet over 80,000 evictions occur annually in Baltimore City. Many tenants are wrongfully threatened with eviction, but without an attorney's intervention, will court eviction unlawfully lose their homes. HPRP attorneys and volunteers, therefore, represent tenants of federally subsidized housing in court eviction proceedings and in administrative hearings with the Housing Authority of Baltimore City to prevent homelessness. For persons already homeless, HPRP attorneys provide a unique service by representing families and individuals in their attempts to access or preserve shelter.
Housing for Chronically Homeless People (Housing First)
Like many jurisdictions, Baltimore City has recognized that to end homelessness for people who have been chronically homeless, it must look beyond the traditional model of congregate emergency shelter, and instead institute a program of immediate housing with intensive services. This program is called Housing First, and provides housing without barrier. HPRP staff, in collaboration with community partners, advises the City on implementation of its Housing First Program, ensuring a strong and effective program, and provides legal assistance to all Housing First consumers.
Access to Public Benefits
Many homeless families and individuals rely on public benefits to pay housing, health care and food costs if they are underemployed or unable to work, yet these vulnerable citizens suffer significant barriers to obtaining these benefits. HPRP and volunteer attorneys represent families and individuals in administrative disputes to obtain and preserve state disability, welfare, food stamps, Medicaid, veterans and other benefits.
Veterans' Benefits Project
HPRP is the only free legal services provider in Maryland to represent veterans in claims for veteran's benefits. In June 2008, with a mini-grant awarded by the Pro Bono Resource Center, HPRP launched the only project in the state of Maryland dedicated to using legal services to reduce homelessness among veterans. The project seeks to leverage the resources of its small staff to meet the legal needs of homeless veterans in Baltimore City by training volunteer attorneys in veterans benefits matters, including disability compensation and pension benefits. Veteran's benefits are substantial enough to pay for housing, but Maryland has the highest number of homeless veterans of any surrounding state or D.C., and Maryland veterans have one of the lowest levels of compensation for their service. The Veterans' Benefits Project expanded in 2009 with organizational partners the Military Law Committee of the Maryland State Bar Association, the Pro Bono Resource Center, and the University of Maryland School of Law, to become a state-wide direct service project and was awarded an American Bar Association Enterprise Fund grant to establish a pro bono emeritus attorney component. On April 17, 2009, these partners held the first annual Maryland Veterans' Legal Assistance Conference in Baltimore to discuss issues facing Maryland veterans and the role that public interest and volunteer attorneys can play in providing critical assistance. Reducing Barriers to Housing and Employment Imposed By Criminal Records Recognizing that experience with the criminal justice system poses a significant barrier to the ability of homeless people to access and that work and a home contribute to lower recidivism rates, HPRP launched a project to eliminate restrictions on employment and housing for certain persons with criminal records by representing homeless people in proceedings to expunge records of charges that result in non-conviction (eg. where the prosecutor refuses to prosecute), advocating for expansion of statutory eligibility for expungement, and urging housing providers and employers to provide access.
Access to Head Start for Homeless Children
With the December 2007 passage of the federal "Improving Head Start for School Readiness Act of 2007", which enhances access to Head Start programs for homeless children, HPRP staff is investigating meaningful ways in which Head Start programs can begin to expand access for and outreach efforts to homeless children and their parents to ensure an early and strong start to education. HPRP staff will also look to enhance the relationship between Head Start programs and the public school systems to ensure children's transition.
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