Thanksgiving is still a few weeks away, but we already feel immense gratitude when we think about our staff, boards, donors, volunteers, community partners, and especially our clients, who help us remember everyday why we do what we do. A client recently left a review saying:
"I called CARPLS when I was dealing with an unfortunate housing/rental situation. I was soon on the phone, talking with an attorney who listened to my problem in depth. After providing initial support, he helped me find a simple solution that I wouldn't have been able to find through my Internet searches. I'm so grateful to CARPLS for giving me a solution to my stressful housing issue. I would recommend calling CARPLS for any relevant issues you might have. They truly want to help and serve our community."
We are all so thankful to be able to help people at this great time of need, but we still need your investment to ensure that they can access our help.
Ten percent of Illinoisans are unemployed; more than 20 million U.S. renters cannot pay their rent; more than 35,000 debt collection cases have been filed in Cook County since August; divorce is up 34% over last year; and domestic violence is up 20%. This is only a snapshot of what's happening to our community. The truth is, things are about to get much worse when moratoria end and people are forced to represent themselves in court on evictions, collection judgments, and more.
Our country is facing peril with the pandemic and the economic effects. Now is the time, more than ever, to invest in our work.
In response to community needs, we have expanded our services to the entire legal aid network to provide:
- Uninterrupted hotline services to people in need and instituted virtual visits to our advice desks;
-
Benny, the Illinois unemployment benefits virtual assistant at bennyfitsil.org;
- A historic cannabis expungement portal for Illinoisans that will launch this month to help them move their lives forward;
- Statewide COVID-19 response efforts that will launch this month;
- More programs in the works to meet our clients' needs
It's so important to come together. Your support at any level ensures that we have the resources to create a single network capable of responding to everyone's needs.
Thank you,
