LEWISTON – Victims of domestic abuse who cannot afford to hire an attorney on their own may soon receive direct legal services through their local domestic violence project. The Maine Coalition to End Domestic Violence has received a two-year Legal Services for Victims Program Grant to support its Legal Assistance for Victims Project.

“Although there are many changes that must occur in our society before violence against women can end, it is clear to advocates in Maine that a way must be found to effectively ensure that victims can get the tools they need to protect themselves and their children,” said Kim Roberts, coalition executive director.

“It is widely agreed that access to a qualified attorney knowledgeable about the dynamics of abusive relationships is one such critical tool for many of them,” said Roberts. The project was created to provide access to civil legal services for victims of domestic violence in areas of the state where those services are at serious risk of becoming nonexistent by establishing a fully-trained legal team comprised of an attorney and one or more specialized domestic violence court advocates.

The Abused Women’s Advocacy Project, the domestic violence victims’ service provider for Androscoggin, Franklin and Oxford counties since 1977, is one of six project partners participating in the program.

“Throughout our long history and broad experience as a domestic violence victim services provider, we’ve witnessed how insufficient access to legal assistance has adversely compromised victims’ efforts to effectively advocate for themselves and their children,” said Paula Paladino, executive director of AWAP.

“With funds from this program, we can continue our partnership with the USM School of Law, which provides legal services for victims in Androscoggin County. The grant will allow us to expand services to Franklin and Oxford counties. This expansion will increase safety for victims in rural areas by giving them greater and more effective access to critically needed judicial protections by ensuring high-quality legal representation as an integral component of the services offered by AWAP,” said Paladino.

Using funds from the grant, AWAP plans to continue working with the USM School of Law and to contract with an experienced attorney for Franklin and Oxford counties to provide legal advice and representation to victims of domestic violence primarily focused on protection from abuse, divorce and child custody cases, which will be identified by the legal team as the matters of most urgent need; and legal advice in ancillary legal matters related to the consequences of abuse, for example, public and private housing disputes, SSDI/SSI eligibility, and access to public benefits.

“This project positions AWAP as the one resource for victims of abuse to obtain assistance with a full range of safety planning and legal support serviced needed to become safe from future abuse,” said Paladino, who hopes to begin offering legal services in Franklin and Oxford counties by the end of November.

For more information, contact the Abused Women’s Advocacy Project at 795-6744 1-800-559-2927.

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