WASHINGTON, D.C., January 30, 2025— Equal Justice Works, the nation’s largest facilitator of opportunities in public interest law, today announced that Margaret A. Cargill Philanthropies (MACP) awarded the Disaster Resilience Program a $575,000 grant to mobilize three Attorney Fellows throughout the Midwest to address the unique disaster-related legal needs of vulnerable communities in this region.
Over the past few years, the Midwest has experienced an increase in the frequency and severity of climate-related disasters, including severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding. People in low-income and marginalized communities impacted by these events turn to legal aid as they work to rebuild and recover. Fellows in the Disaster Resilience Program increase the bandwidth of community-based legal services organizations to respond to the resulting surge in demand for legal aid.
Through this grant, three attorney Fellows and three accompanying summer law student Fellows will mobilize to new areas in the Midwest for two years. Equal Justice Works will issue a needs assessment in the target areas to help determine the nature, location, and focus of the MACP-funded Fellowships. Equal Justice Works also acknowledges the unique needs of tribal communities in the region as well as the need to address low-attention disasters, and aims to gather more information on how to better serve these communities as well.
“We are thrilled to receive this support to extend disaster legal aid to midwestern communities,” said Linda Anderson Stanley, the director of Fellowships at Equal Justice Works. “These Fellows will be able to provide services that match the growing need for legal aid in the aftermath of disasters like floods, tornadoes, and severe storms.”
Click here to learn more about Equal Justice Works’ Disaster Resilience Program.
