With the goal of improving access to their services in rural, remote, and/or Aboriginal communities, the Legal Services Society (LSS) has formed partnerships with service providers throughout BC. These new Community Partners provide legal information; connect people to legal aid intake offices and the LSS call centre to apply for legal aid; refer people to other community, print, and web resources; raise awareness of legal aid services; and promote and provide law-related community development and/or public legal education activities and information.
According to Mike Delaney, Community Engagement Coordinator at LSS, the idea behind the project is to
“engage community agencies who are already trusted and familiar sources of help…to partner with them, to form a hub of information in those communities.”
Delaney went on to say that the Community Partnerships project is one aimed at sustainability; that is, the goal is to enable communities from within, rather than having them rely as much on the central Vancouver office.
So far, according to Delaney, feedback has been positive:
“Community Partners have reported that this new model is being very well received by the community.”
For more information about LSS’s Community Partners check out the LSS Website.
To see a map of Community Partner locations, take a peek at the Clicklaw HelpMap!
