Based on years of collaborative planning, the EJC is a pioneering concept that will affect how combined civil legal aid and social services are delivered. The EJC's unique projects will set a national standard for interagency relationships and operational efficiency in support of greater social impact.
Legal and social issues are rarely simple - and rarely come one at a time. The ability to address interlocking issues in a more efficient and holistic manner will be life-changing for Philadelphia residents seeking multiple vital supports.
Those in need of legal services may live in poverty, struggle to maintain employment, have disabilities, face issues of aging, meet challenges with their immigrant status, or be affected by violence and abuse. Organizations involved with EJC initiatives will potentially serve tens of thousands of people a year who will benefit from streamlined access to legal aid services and social supports.
The EJC initiatives will permanently transform the capacity of the city’s legal aid system to sustain and improve operations and enhance its ability to meet client needs. Legal aid organizations will be able to increase vital resources for staffing, programs, and client services.
Most legal services organizations in Philadelphia maintain their own office space, with conference rooms, IT services, and libraries. Their intake procedures are not coordinated, and chronic under-funding impacts their ability to meet the seemingly limitless need for client services.
EJC projects will allow service delivery to be spread out across the city to directly impact neighborhoods with the greatest need for civil and social justice services. It will also advance efforts to grapple with and overcome historical injustices perpetrated by a systemically racially biased and unfair civil law system.
When a legal problem is successfully addressed and resolved, both the client and the whole community benefit from the resulting improvement in family stability, safe housing, educational opportunities, needed health care, new or continued employment, increased income for food and clothing, and more.