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Types of community development activities we are involved in

Clinic Outreach

Providing speakers to classes

Developing and distributing legal education materials

Organizing workshops and conferences

Popular education

Networking and building strong relationships with community organizations

Community development and capacity-building

Community organizing

 

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Our community development activities include:

•  general clinic outreach

•  providing speakers to groups and classes

•  developing and distributing legal education materials

•  organizing workshops and conferences

•  popular education

•  networking and building strong relationships with community organizations

•  community development and capacity-building

•  community organizing

Our work priorities are determined each year by our Board of Directors in consultation with staff. Therefore, the kind of work we do varies a lot from year to year. If you are interested in some of the other activities we've been involved in over the past twenty five years, visit the section about our history.

If you would like more information or to suggest an idea for a special project, please contact us at clinicoutreach@communitylegalcentre.ca.

We do apply for funding grants periodically so we can do more community development work than our limited operating funds from Legal Aid Ontario allow. In the past we have received special project grants from Services Canada, the Provincial Homelessness Initiative Fund, Justice Canada and Pro Bono Law Ontario. We are grateful for this support.

We speak to community groups, clubs, social service organizations, and others who are interested in learning more about our work and poverty law. We do radio and cable tv programs. From time to time, we issue press releases about our work. Local newspapers have also been very helpful publishing information about we do and poverty law issues several times a year.

We are often asked to provide information on poverty law topics and justice for teachers and students. We especially welcome opportunities to speak to adult students, particularly those attending literacy programs.

We believe providing access to legal information helps to level the playing field for our client community.  Over the years we've developed a lot of written information including:

•  a guide for living on a low income

•  self-help kits

•  pamphlets

•  information and tip sheets

•  the clinic's newsletter Bafflegab

•  legal information videos for the deaf

Information about legal rights must be constantly updated as law changes. You should always make sure the material you are relying on is current!  Sometimes we adapt materials from other sources with permission, like the Self-Advocacy Guide we originally obtained from an American legal clinic.

Developing this website as a legal education tool has been a new and interesting challenge.  A staff member also sat on the Advisory Committee for the new CLEONet web site - a wonderful online resource to legal education materials from all over Ontario and beyond.

In the past we've organized many events ranging from mini-workshops to two day conferences. These events are usually related to a special direction we are taking in our work. We have worked on topics including:

•  legal issues affecting the disabled

•  domestic violence and sexual abuse

•  criminal injuries compensation

•  seniors issues

•  social assistance rights

•  injuries at work

•  employment law

•  tenants rights

•  children's "special education" issues

•  systemic advocacy

We also like to work in collaboration with other individuals, groups and organizations to sponsor more workshops and conferences.  Please contact us if you are interested in this.  Also through our new Pro Bono Project - a special collaboration with local Law Associations and private bar lawyers - we hope to be able to provide speakers for other areas of law that we do not cover by late 2007, conditional on additional funding. 

We've experimented with putting on short plays to build community learning and provoke discussion on social justice topics.  We've also sponsored workshops playing the "Poverty Game".  This interactive Monopoly-like game developed by a group in Dawson Creed B.C. helps to build awareness and sensitivity to the realities of life on welfare.

 

The script for our "Reality Check" drama, produced for our Annual General Meeting (AGM) in 1998 can be found by clicking here. 

 

The script for our "Domino Effect" drama, which has been performed in the community several times and broadcast over Cablevue 4 can be found by clicking here. The Domino Effect is a short dramatic presentation written and performed by the Community Advocacy & Legal Centre at its Annual General Meeting in November 2003.  It highlights the "domino effect" of misfortunes that can befall any of us and plunge us into the depths of poverty and despair.
 

Please contact us or email us at clinicoutreach@communitylegalcentre.ca if you'd like more information or to produce one of the plays.

 

 

We believe in strong co-operative relationships with other service providers and community organizations. We participate in several inter-agency groups. We meet several times a year with Social Service Departments and the Ministry of Community and Social Services in an effort to build healthy working relationships and resolve conflict and issues, where they exist, expeditiously and creatively. We provide legal information sessions for staff also.

Working towards an inclusive, healthy and vibrant community is an important part of our service mandate. The way we do our work varies with the project at hand. We can provide:

•  research support and resources

•  access to our library

•  legal and social analysis

•  organizational and logistical support

•  meeting space

•  training and learning opportunities

•  communications

•  editing and printing of reports

•  developing of submissions to government

•  archival space

•  project supervision and management

•  strategic planning

•  software and computer use

•  multimedia equipment, and, most recently,

•  assistance with website development

Here are a few examples of our work over the years:

•  the Belleville Task Force on Hunger

•  Partnership Against Poverty

•  the Systemic Advocacy Course

•  speaker series on social justice topics in collaboration with community groups

•  community development networking “brown bag” lunches, and

•  the Affordable Housing Action Network

 

We work with low income groups or individuals or members of disadvantaged communities to assist them to build viable community organizations. Examples of groups we initially helped to start include several tenants associations, the Quinte & District Injured Workers Group and the Tenant Action Group. We can provide meeting space and start up assistance and other supports. Our goal is to create self-sufficient local grass-roots groups that can advocate for their own interests.