Join Our Facebook Live on March 3!

Hotline Number 312-738-9200

March 1, 2021

Community Collaboration: Taller de José

CARPLS' collaboration with nonprofit organization Taller de José aims to make services to Latinx communities more accessible.

The COVID-19 pandemic has made accessing the court system even more difficult. Thanks to this new Taller de José/CARPLS collaboration, we are able to offer both legal and supportive services to the Spanish-speaking community.

"CARPLS has always been one of our strongest legal services partners, so we are thrilled to work together even more through this new collaboration! This program will enable us to increase access to much-need, high quality legal advice and provide accompaniment to community members navigating complex legal systems."

-Anna Mayer, Executive Director, Taller de José

"The TDJ compañero identifies an individual who has a legal problem. The client is then set up for an appointment with a CARPLS attorney, who then further advises the client and connects them with other legal aid organizations for representation when possible. Through this collaboration, we hope to be able to further assist individuals who have been hardest hit by the pandemic."

-Maria Mora, CARPLS Supervising Attorney

"Taller de José provides our clients with an invaluable service. The legal system is very difficult to navigate for a self-represented litigant under normal circumstances. Moreover, Taller de José is helping populations and neighborhoods hardest hit by the pandemic. I believe that the Taller de José services are vital to effectively delivering needed services to our clients during the pandemic."

-Kathleen Callahan, CARPLS Staff Attorney

COVID HELP Facebook Live on March 3!

JOIN US HERE

COVID HELP Illinois Nominated for the ABA Louis M. Brown Award

CARPLS' project COVID HELP Illinois is one of four nominees for the Louis M. Brown Award for Legal Access!

COVID HELP Illinois offers a bold new vision for expanding the availability of legal information and assistance to those in need, in a way that responds to a crisis and has implications for reshaping the legal aid delivery system in the coming years.

VOTE FOR US HERE

Are You Smarter Than A Lawyer?

Join us for trivia on April 14

When: Wednesday, April 14, 2021, 7:00 p.m.

Where: Virtual (you don’t have to leave your living room!)

Palpable tension. Plentiful laughs. That only begins to describe CARPLS’ Trivia Event! Show off just how smart you are.

Sponsorship opportunities are available. For any questions, please contact [email protected] or call 312.421.4014.

"My Heart Was Smiling!"

"Lucy" had been sued for a major credit card debt, and she felt overwhelmed. She called CARPLS, and our team helped her assess her rights. She said, "The attorney spoke with me out of the professional goodness of his heart. He explained my rights and assured me of my specific concerns. At the end of our conversation, my heart was smiling!"

CARPLS Everyday Justice Blog:

"If Not Now, When?"

“If not now, when?”

by Tanya Pietrkowski, CARPLS Director of Development

I recently heard a friend make this quote in the news about an ambitious endeavor. And, I thought—I remember this quote as a kid from Rabbi Hillel, an ancient Talmudic scholar:

"If I am not for myself, who will be for me? And being only for myself, what am 'I'? And if not now, when?”

Or you might attribute a version of this quote to the late Congressman John Lewis:

“If not us, then who? If not now, then when?”

The quote implies the Golden Rule that is a part of every culture in creating a sense of humanity and empathy for others. In my mind, it’s one of the highest attributes of the ideal of service in the legal community.