Legal Funds to Support DV Survivor and Children

Hi everyone, Im reaching out for support again for a community member who is in a strenuous legal battle. This community member has two kids. I first met them at the beginning of the pandemic after fleeing a domestically violent and dangerous situation. Since then, community has supported with grocery drop offs, language interpretation, rides to and from meetings with the lawyer and court appointments, amongst other necessary supports for this family. We are reaching out because we need more help.

 

For more context on the legal situation, this member of community was initially with a lawyer through legal aid. That lawyer no longer wanted to represent this client. Their former lawyer went through formal channels to remove themselves off the record as their lawyer. The decision to not provide a new lawyer through legal aid was appealed, but we were denied once again — which has forced us to seek private counsel for this person. They are a recent immigrant to Canada.

 

A lawyer has been retained and many costs have incurred since. The lawyer is currently owed close to $10,000 and we are expecting more costs to come as we return to court in July. The lawyer has asked that we pay the complete $10,000 before the upcoming court date in July. For privacy reasons, this person would like to stay anonymous but if you require any evidence or information, we are happy to share the interim account report with the outline of what is currently owed to the lawyer. Members of the community have been supporting this family since the beginning of the pandemic and are asking the community for support once again. We are worried about loosing this lawyer before the legal battle is complete, which could be a huge risk to the this family and the children who escaped a abusive and violent situation. Any support would mean alot to the family and the community supporting them.

 

Gratitude,

 

Sabreina Dahab and Saira Faruq