Our clients need specialist legal advice and representation to give them access to justice that would otherwise be denied to them. By helping them to assert their legal rights, we not only defend their dignity and human rights, but promote their proper place as members of a fully functioning, genuinely inclusive society.
We meet the needs and address the disadvantage of around 1400 clients per year. They include women fleeing domestic violence, people who are in housing crisis, people with no income or recourse to public funds, those with complex benefit challenges, disabled children and adults. We are able to pursue cases all the way from initial enquiry to representation in the higher courts, if necessary.
Here are the stories of three of our recent clients:
Sabina’s story
Sabina and her husband were shocked when their adult son threw them out of their home, where he also lived. They had owned the property, but it had been transferred into their son’s name and Sabina and her husband, who were elderly and spoke little English, hadn’t really understood what was happening.
Gary’s story
Gary was referred to the law centre by Inspire, a consortium of organisations delivering mental health services across Tower Hamlets. He was a recovering alcoholic and substance abuser, and while he was no longer using alcohol and drugs he still had significant mental health problems and a history of self-harm.
Alice’s story
Alice is from Zambia. She was only 12 when her stepmother forced her to work as a prostitute, after her father developed HIV which made him unable to work. Alice escaped to South Africa, supposedly under the protection of one of the men who had abused her. But he betrayed her and set her to work as a prostitute again, bringing men to their apartment, where Alice was trapped.
Sabina's story
Sabina and her husband were shocked when their adult son threw them out of their home, where he also lived. They had owned the property, but it had been transferred into their son’s name and Sabina and her husband, who were elderly and spoke little English, hadn’t really understood what was happening.
A family friend helped them apply to the council as homeless, and Sabina and her husband were placed in emergency accommodation while the council made enquiries about their situation. The council wanted to investigate whether the couple had made themselves homeless on purpose; in that case, it wouldn’t have to find them a new long-term home, even though they were vulnerable.
Sabina and her husband had to pay rent on their emergency accommodation, but a different department of the council decided that they had too much money to qualify for Housing Benefit, treating their former home as though it still belonged to them.
The couple couldn’t afford to pay the rent without Housing Benefit, and built up arrears of £6000, which gave them another huge set of worries on top of everything else that had happened to them. Our welfare benefits team took on their case and succeeded in getting the decision changed, paying off all the arrears.
Meanwhile, our housing team represented Sabina and her husband in their homelessness application. The council finally accepted that Sabina and her husband had not made themselves homeless on purpose, and they were relieved and happy to be rehoused in ground floor sheltered accommodation with a back garden.
Gary's story
Gary was referred to the law centre by Inspire, a consortium of organisations delivering mental health services across Tower Hamlets. He was a recovering alcoholic and substance abuser, and while he was no longer using alcohol and drugs he still had significant mental health problems and a history of self-harm.
Gary lived alone, and suffered from terrible panic attacks whenever he left his home. He was unable to travel anywhere unfamiliar without someone to accompany him. He also had sciatica, which made it even harder for him to get about.
Gary was unable to prepare food for himself, so his mother would travel from Essex several times a week with food for him.
But when he applied for Personal Independence Payment, a state benefit that helps with the extra costs of a long-term health condition or disability, his application was rejected.
We interviewed Gary at length, and obtained strong supporting evidence from his GP and support worker before submitting his appeal. The tribunal awarded the maximum possible rate of PIP, amounting to over £7,000 in back-dated arrears and £5,000 in new weekly payments.
Alice's story
Alice is from Zambia. She was only 12 when her stepmother forced her to work as a prostitute, after her father developed HIV which made him unable to work.
Alice escaped to South Africa, supposedly under the protection of one of the men who had abused her. But he betrayed her and set her to work as a prostitute again, bringing men to their apartment, where Alice was trapped.
A few months later, Alice stole some money from the man and used it to pay a lorry driver to smuggle her back into Zambia. But once there, she could not avoid her stepmother, who forced her back into prostitution.
Eventually, Alice was allowed to visit her aunt, who lived in the UK. When her aunt learned what had happened, she brought Alice to us for advice.
Alice was terrified that, if she had to return to Zambia, she would be forced to work as a prostitute again. We helped her to claim asylum on the grounds that she had been a victim of human trafficking, and she has now been granted leave to remain in the UK as a refugee.