Happy spring! Mid Minnesota Legal Aid (MMLA) partners with PUC to host in-person legal clinics at Brian Coyle and Waite House to provide a host of free legal services to low-income and elderly clients.
In this April edition of our report to PUC, check out the change to the services offered on Wednesdays at the Brian Coyle Center, a story and lesson about legal tools to care for loved ones, and the clinic’s statistics from March!
Brian Coyle Center Legal Clinic
Legal Aid’s Legal Clinic at the Brian Coyle Center (420 15th Ave S, Minneapolis, MN 55454) offers nearly every legal service that Mid Minnesota Legal Aid offers. Previously Wednesdays at the Brian Coyle Center were devoted to housing issues. Now, it is available for any legal-type. Thursday is still reserved for immigration issues only. Folks with housing issues can now come to the clinic Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday to receive help:
Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday 9 AM – 3 PM (General Civil)
- Guardianship
- Divorce
- Custody
- Evictions
- Public Benefits
- Consumer Issues
- Criminal Expungement
- Eviction Expungement
- Damaged/Unsafe Housing
- Section 8 Issues
- Lost Security Deposits
Thursday 9 AM – 3 PM (Immigration)
- Naturalization
- Green Cards
- Derivative Citizenship
- Adjustment of Status
- U/T Visa
- VAWA
Waite House Legal Clinic
MMLA’s immigration legal clinic at Waite House (2323 11th Ave S, Minneapolis, MN 55404) provides brief services and advice for immigration matters including: pro se asylum applications, pro se work card applications, and brief advice and consultations. It is open every Monday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Appointments can be made with the front desk staff at Waite House. Walk-ins are welcome, but they are not guaranteed to be seen—appointments are strongly preferred. All staff at the Waite House Legal Clinic speak Spanish and English.
A Story and a Lesson
Earlier this year, a Somali woman came into the Legal Clinic at the Brian Coyle Center. She is the mother and caretaker of her adult daughter who has a developmental disability. She is also the primary caretaker of her daughter’s son, who is 3 years old. She had been taking care of both of them for years, but there were things she could not do to help them without legal help. For instance, she wasn’t allowed to make important medical decisions for her daughter in case of an emergency.
Understandably this woman believed she needed guardianship of her daughter and custody of her grandson. Those options involve long and complicated legal processes. Fortunately, her daughter welcomed her mother’s support. That meant the daughter could sign three important documents: a Power of Attorney (POA) and Healthcare Directive (HCD) for herself and a Delegation of Parenting Authority (DOPA) for her son.
Now the daughter’s wishes to be taken care of and have her mom take care of her son are being met! This was all possible without complicated and time-intensive court processes.
It is good to know that guardianship is only for extreme situations. Less intrusive options (like powers of attorney and healthcare directives) are often enough to provide care for someone who needs extra support. To learn more about guardianships and the less intense alternatives check out these websites:
- Powers of Attorney – https://www.lawhelpmn.org/self-help-library/fact-sheet/powers-attorney
- Healthcare Directives – https://www.lawhelpmn.org/self-help-library/fact-sheet/health-care-directives
- Guardianships and Conservatorships – https://www.lawhelpmn.org/self-help-library/fact-sheet/guardianships-and-conservatorships
You can also schedule an appointment at the Brian Coyle Clinic!
A Look at the Numbers
In March the Brian Coyle Center Legal Clinic opened 35 new cases and closed 18 cases. During that same time, Waite House opened 9 new cases and closed 6 cases. It is normal for the Brian Coyle Clinic to have more cases each month because it is open more days a week.
Here are some graphs with each clinic’s monthly new and closed cases. New cases opened in the month are in blue. Cases closed in the month are in orange.
