Street Law is a free outreach legal service for the homeless and those at risk of homelessness in Western Australia.
GET LEGAL HELP
HOW ARE WE DOING?
YOU CAN HELP
LEARNING & RESOURCES
OUR UPDATES
CLOSE THE GAP:
We know that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people remain over-represented in our criminal justice system
The ongoing impact of legal issues impact directly on health and mental health
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are estimated to represent around 29% of the homeless population in WA, directly impacting their health and legal outcomes.
Many of our clients will be eligible for the National Redress Scheme, however, some have already told us that they would rather not relive or discuss their trauma any further.
knowmore is the free legal service which provides information and advice to those affected. If you'd like to discuss a possible claim or your options further, feel free to contact them directly. Also, Street Law will providing advice about options, assistance, and referrals to its clients who wish to pursue this further.
*Please note, content in the article includes real stories of Survivors
www.abc.net.au/news/2019-03-07/sexual-abuse-survivors-reveal-pain-of-applying-for-redress/1087879...
'Like being raped again': Survivors reveal pain of applying for redress
abc.net.au
The National Redress Scheme was meant to help compensate survivors of institutional child sexual abuse, but many say having to retell their stories is making them relive the trauma.This week we said goodbye to two of our amazing secondees, Jordan and Patrick.
Both Jordan and Patrick have been crucial in providing much needed legal assistance to those in our community who are homeless or at risk of homelessness.
Jordan has worked with us at Street Law on Tuesdays over the last six months through our pro-bono partner Ashurst. She became a familiar face to those at our outreach legal clinic at St Patrick's Community Support Centre in Fremantle. Jordan's wealth of knowledge and work across a range of legal areas has resulted in untold benefits for our clients, and her positive attitude brightened our office every week!
Patrick, from another of our pro-bono partners King & Wood Mallesons, was a key player in our outreach legal clinic at Ruah. Patrick’s work over the past ten weeks has resulted in positive outcomes for many of our clients, and his input to criminal law issues was absolutely invaluable. We will all miss your references to obscure parts of legislation, which often resulted in great discussion with those at the office!
A massive thank you to our pro-bono partners Ashurst and King & Wood Mallesons - and of course to Patrick and Jordan. You will both be missed and we hope to see your faces around again soon!
Today is World Consumer Protection Day. We thought we'd share with you a story about someone we've helped in this area.
One of our clients, Jason* had been admitted to Graylands, and suffers with schizophrenia. Once his symptoms stabilised, he was transferred to an open ward which allowed day release. While on day release, Jason entered into a contract for an iPad.
Later, Jason was discharged and was living in crisis accommodation. He continued to be locked into payments for the iPad, but could not afford it and wanted to end the contract. He hadn't ever even used or opened the iPad.
We helped Jason by assisting him to get a copy of the contract and request medical evidence outlining his capacity at the time he entered into the contract. We then submitted this to the service provider, requesting Jason be reimbursed what he had paid, not have to pay any termination fees.
After advocating for Jason, the service provider agreed that in exchange for the iPad, he would be fully reimbursed and all other fees were waived.
Often our clients will experience consumer issues along with a number of other issues. Getting some relief in this area allows them to focus their money and efforts into other key areas, and has significant impact on each individual we assist.
