Community Preservation & Empowerment

The Community Preservation and Empowerment group advocates for individuals, communities, neighborhood nonprofits, and others. Attorneys handle legal areas that combat systemic inequity, discrimination, and segregation through specific areas:

 

CIVIL RIGHTS

The Civil Rights Team defends the fundamental rights of low-income individuals and communities through litigation and other advocacy. The team's attorneys combat unlawful discrimination, protect against abuses by government officials, ensure voting rights, and address denials of equal protection and due process of law. 

Services & Activities 

  • Litigate to protect the rights of low-income individuals and communities under the U.S. and Texas constitutions and under other federal and state laws; 

  • Provide legal education and assistance with regard to constitutional and other legal rights and the administrative processes for asserting those rights; 

  • Collaborate with partners and other TRLA teams to identify and address systemic civil rights issues affecting impoverished communities throughout Texas. 

Peter McGraw, Team Manager

 

COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT

The Community Development Team provides education and legal assistance to community groups to combat systemic inequities in housing, infrastructure, adverse environmental conditions, and health. The team works to empower low-income neighborhood groups to create safe, healthy, and thriving communities.

Services & Activities

  • Provide legal education and assistance to a neighborhood or other low-income advocacy groups through a community lawyering model;

  • Identify inequities in housing, infrastructure, water, and adverse environmental impacts through outreach and collaboration with other teams and advocacy partners;

  • Provide holistic support for low-income communities throughout other TRLA practice areas;

  • File administrative complaints and litigation, if applicable, under the 1964 Civil Rights Act, the Fair Housing Act, and other state and federal laws.

 

CONSUMER Protection

The Consumer Protection Team's mission is to help low-income people protect their income and assets by providing representation, legal assistance, advocacy, advice, and education to those who are cheated by unscrupulous businesses or individuals. The team addresses a wide range of consumer issues, including unlawful repossession, student loans, payday and title loans, garnishments and receiverships, deceptive sales practices, fraudulent auto sales and repairs, shoddy home improvements, unfair debt-collection practices, home solicitations, and warranty and contract issues.

Services and Activities

  • Represent eligible consumers in state and federal courts; 

  • Conduct financial literacy education training for low-income communities; 

  • Collaborate with community partners to educate consumers about unscrupulous business practices and the danger of high-interest loans.


DISASTER BENEFITS TEAM 

The Disaster Benefits Team provides advice and representation for people seeking financial resources to help themselves, their families, or their small businesses recover from disasters. 

Services & Activities 

  • Help low-income disaster survivors access FEMA assistance, insurance, and low-interest loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA); 

  • Help navigate FEMA to seek financial aid from its Individuals and Households Program (IHP); 

  • Appeal FEMA denials or award amounts; 

  • Pursuing extension of temporary shelter or rental assistance; 

  • Defending against recoupment demands; 

  • Pursue litigation to seek solutions to systemic FEMA problems; 

  • Help clients who seek fair handling of their claims with the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association and the National Flood Insurance Program 

  • Help people who have applied for personal disaster loans from the SBA in relation to FEMA. 

Brittanny Perrigue, Team Manager

ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE

The Environmental Justice Team represents low-income people in environmental matters to improve the health and safety of communities impacted by pollution. The team focuses on community outreach and education, as well as administrative advocacy before the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) and other government agencies with regulatory authority over the environment.

Services & Activities

  • Represent clients before administrative agencies that regulate polluting industries;

  • Prosecute “citizen suits” to enforce federal environmental laws;

  • Address nuisances that impact TRLA clients, such as odors, dust, or noise;

  • Promote enforcement of environmental laws in low-income minority communities disproportionately affected by pollution;

  • Represent clients at contested case hearings on air, water, or solid waste permits before the TCEQ or on permits within the jurisdiction of the Railroad Commission of Texas;

  • File citizen suits under the Clean Water Act, Clean Air Act, and Safe Drinking Water Act;

  • File administrative complaints under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act;

  • Pursue state court suits for nuisance;

    Educate communities about making environmental complaints and about their rights under environmental and civil rights laws.

medical-legal partnership

The Health Law Team represents clients who have been wrongfully denied medical benefits, and Medical-Legal Partnerships are coordinated efforts between TRLA and medical providers with the mission of providing holistic services, especially to the medically needy.

SMALL BUSINESS AND NONPROFITS

The mission of the Small Business and NonProfits Team is to provide low-income entrepreneurs with legal services to help them form, maintain, or expand their small businesses, social enterprises, or cooperatively owned businesses; to provide low-income entrepreneurs with the legal tools to create and retain assets to move out of poverty, and to promote economic development and community infrastructure development in low-income communities.

Services & Activities

  • Help people who are working to create and retain assets and improve their economic prospects through entrepreneurship by providing referrals, counseling, and services;

  • Provide direct legal services to low-income entrepreneurs who are starting and growing their businesses; 

  • Develop legal resources for low-income entrepreneurs; 

  • Provide legal services and support for entrepreneurs seeking to engage in non-exploitative forms of business such as cooperatively owned and managed enterprises; 

  • Conduct community outreach and provide community legal education for the entrepreneurial community supporting microenterprise development.

Nonprofit Organizations

  • Provide legal services to unincorporated associations, community-based organizations, startups, and established nonprofits that serve low-income individuals and communities;

  • Match eligible nonprofit organizations with volunteer attorneys through TRLA’s Community Building with Attorney Resources (CBAR) program for assistance with incorporation, obtaining a 501(c)(3) exemption, contracts, bylaws, and other legal matters;

  • Educate nonprofits by providing trainings, legal clinics, and resources on topics such as starting a nonprofit, legal compliance, board governance, and other legal issues affecting the nonprofit sector.

Team Manager, Andrea Harrington