Overview of Three Rivers Legal Services
Three Rivers Legal Services is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the fair and equitable administration of justice for all people in affordable and accessible ways. They serve six counties surrounding the Jacksonville area — Duval, Clay, Putnam, Flagler, Nassau, and Baker. Their mission is to provide access to free legal aid services to low-income individuals and families who do not have the means to hire an attorney, thereby eliminating barriers to justice. To accomplish this , Three Rivers Legal Services works with pro bono volunteers to provide free legal advice and representation in a variety of cases including family law and divorce, consumer issues, foreclosure defense, public benefits appeals, and simple wills. If you live in the greater Jacksonville area, Three Rivers Legal Services may be able to help with your case. They are a great resource that may be able to connect you with the correct legal services needed.
Types of Services Offered
Three Rivers of Jacksonville provides a broad range of services for the under-served, from housing law to domestic violence and family law to consumer protection and public benefits. According to their website, Three Rivers provides their services in Jacksonville, and they organize their practice areas by the six "rivers" of legal service they provide: housing, consumer, family, health, income and personal safety (abuse).
Housing law is the most central service Three Rivers Legal Services provides in the area, but they also take on a number of family and family-related services. Housing laws mainly include landlord-tenant disputes, eviction defense, and other various forms of legal aid related to real estate matters.
Family and family-related services include marital law, custody and visitation, paternity, domestic violence, and other means to recover damages. While these cases do not include divorce, Three Rivers tries to connect their clients with local Jacksonville resources that address the issue, even if they personally do not provide the services or representation in these types of cases.
Consumer cases often involve repossession, bankruptcy, and other forms of debt relief, such as preventing foreclosures. These cases are slightly more complex that other types of legal aid, and thus typically require a higher degree of income accessibility from clients. Three Rivers does, however, use this segment of their business to educate individuals on consumer law.
Income and public benefits include a wide range of issues that all generally relate to workers’ compensation and many forms of benefits distribution. Like with consumer legal aid, these cases usually require a larger-cap ability to pay than other forms of legal aid offered by Three Rivers Legal Services.
Health care and health law, like public benefit cases, can be quite complex and thus Three Rivers only takes these cases for their under-served clients after an initial review. Health care and health law cases can often overlap with many of the other categories of services Three Rivers offers.
Who is Eligible for Services
Three Rivers Legal Services assists low income clients whose household income falls below 200% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines. The federal poverty guidelines are published every year by the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). It is a sliding scale based on household size and is updated annually. It is important to note that the poverty guideline is used as a measure of income, not wealth. Income is defined as cash received or money available without consideration of expenses. For example, food stamps and Section 8 vouchers are not counted as income.
Three Rivers Legal Services office locations in Jacksonville, Florida provide services to individuals who live or work in Baker, Bradford, Clay, Duval, Flagler, Nassau, Putnam, St. Johns, and Volusia counties. Three Rivers also serves out of county clients who have a substantive legal issue in one of the counties listed above.
Additional eligibility requirements
In general, the legal issue must be a type of case for which we normally practice. For example, we normally provide assistance with family law issues such as divorce, custody, and child support. We can also provide limited legal advice or brief services for issues related to housing matters such as evictions, landlord/tenant disputes, and short sales. We do not currently serve clients with criminal matters or traffic offenses and do not represent clients in bankruptcy matters.
If Three Rivers Legal Services determines that we can assist you, you will have to be willing, in general, to accept or pursue a recommended course of action: i.e., we are not here to consider your legal problem for you, or to advise you of your options and then leave you to choose whichever one you want. We are here to provide you with a service – [insert name service] – and to represent you, but you have to be willing to accept us and to work with us in reaching your legal goals.
Over Income Guidelines and Other Considerations
There may be instances where your net household income exceeds the income guidelines discussed above and is, therefore, above the levels at which we usually serve clients. However, if we have the capacity to do so, we may be able to accept your case. Likewise, there may be certain factors in your case that we consider during our case acceptance review that we believe make it appropriate under the circumstances to serve the matter or refer you to counsel who may be able to provide service for you.
How to Obtain a Lawyer
Three Rivers helps families who are at or below 200% federal poverty level. This includes individuals, married couples, parents with dependent children, and elders. If you are unsure of your eligibility, contact Three Rivers and ask to speak with the Screening Clerk to help you determine what services they can offer you. There are two types of legal services offered through this program, full representation and limited assistance. Full representation offers people the option for representation by a volunteer attorney, which is a pro bono lawyer who provides legal assistance at no charge. Limited legal assistance is counsel and advice provided by a volunteer attorney . Some programs, such as the Florida Bar’s Florida Free Legal Answers Virtual Hotline, offer free and confidential advice online.
As with many other assistance programs, the materials you must provide to able to access legal assistance include:
- Photo I.D.
- Proof of Residence
- Proof of Income
- Proof of Household Expenses
- Proof of Assets
- Proof of Household Members
The application process is relatively simple. If you need immediate legal assistance, contact Three Rivers on the phone or online. They will let you know when you can come in for a face-to-face consultation or arrange a telephone conference at your convenience. You can also visit Three Rivers in person without an appointment. Appointments are not required and they open from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Impact on the Community of Jacksonville
For years, Three Rivers Legal Services has consistently made an impactful and profound difference in the lives of many vulnerable people throughout Jacksonville. Their collaborative approach and focus on a holistic legal and social services system serve perhaps the most underserved in our community. Over the course of the past year alone, Three Rivers has served 244 clients that sought assistance with 290 unique legal issues. Of those, 241 were family law issues. They also brought these families an amazing 87 family law victories aiding individual and family stability. Three Rivers has included in their portfolio an impressive 100 percent victory rate for their representation in divorce cases. They have not only improved the lives of individual families but also positively affected the community as a whole by collaborating with over 60 agencies such as the Department of Children and Families and various faith-based organizations. Their commitment to assisting the community with affordable, obtainable legal services has proven effective and long-lasting. They aim to continue their impactful work through education and public outreach.
Where to Assist or Get Involved
Three Rivers Legal Services offers various ways for the community to contribute to its mission of providing legal assistance to low-income residents. As a volunteer-driven organization, it relies on individuals with a range of skills, from administrative support to legal expertise. Those interested in contributing their time can contact the office directly to inquire about current volunteer needs and available positions . Additionally, Three Rivers accepts tax-deductible donations to support its legal aid efforts and maintain vital community services. The organization also welcomes opportunities to host information sessions or events to raise awareness about the importance of legal education and access to justice. By getting involved with Three Rivers, individuals directly support local nonprofit efforts designed to bridge the justice gap for the most vulnerable members of the community.