Access Justice Brooklyn

ABOUT ACCESS JUSTICE BROOKLYN

For over 35 years, Access Justice Brooklyn (AJB) has remained committed to our mission by serving and advocating for our Brooklyn neighbors – saving homes, securing families, and building the support and foundation for healthier, more stable lives. 

Free, accessible legal services are essential to supporting our neighbors and ensuring the stability of Brooklyn’s diverse communities.

Through direct services, education, and outreach, we support individuals in Brooklyn while simultaneously dismantling systemic barriers to justice.

The Access Justice Brooklyn approach prioritizes the most basic, essential elements and experiences of human life, including housing, family stability, and subsistence income. Our clients face threatened homelessness, devastating debt, family breakdowns, uncertain immigration status, and ongoing predatory practices that target low-income families, the elderly, and persons with disabilities. In all of our programs, we work collaboratively to discover unmet needs among self-represented individuals to ensure an equitable administration of justice and to lessen the pressure on limited judicial resources. The proven pro bono model—recruit, train, supervise, and support—also provides flexibility to address new legal issues as they emerge.

Access Justice Brooklyn believes the system only works fairly when all Brooklynites have the means to access and achieve justice.

Like many organizations, AJB has been seeking to expand our programs to best serve our community. In the past year, AJB has grown our older adult-focused outreach and expanded our services to include government benefits assistance and education, ensuring seniors know about and can obtain all of the income support to which they are entitled. Additionally, enhancing our holistic approach to economic justice, we formally launched a financial literacy program that provides free presentations about credit, budgeting, and financial products, empowering community members of all ages to make informed decisions regarding their financial future. 

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SUPPORT ACCESS JUSTICE BROOKLYN

During these challenging times, the need for AJB’s services is growing, especially as it relates to our economic justice work. However, resources and capacity remain a significant barrier to meeting this high demand for assistance.

Invest in our community's future – Invest in justice: make a gift today!

Your generosity ensures that our impactful work will continue to transform the lives of our neighbors in need.

To learn more about Access Justice Brooklyn, visit: www.ajbk.org

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Access Justice Brooklyn is a not-for-profit public charity recognized by the IRS under 501(c)(3). Tax ID: 11-3155182. New York State Tax Exempt Certificate Number: 207862. Contributions to Access Justice Brooklyn are fully tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law.

Who We Are

In 1990, having witnessed growing disparities of legal resources and representation throughout Brooklyn’s judicial system, attorneys in Brooklyn joined together in founding the Brooklyn Bar Association Volunteer Lawyers Project (VLP) to help close the justice gap. Guided on the principle that all people should be valued and provided with equal opportunities and resources, the VLP's mission and vision as maintained to this day: to ensure that the legal system is accessible to those who, because of special needs or the overwhelming burden of poverty, would not otherwise have their rights protected or their voices heard.

The VLP provides direct civil legal services to residents of Brooklyn living at or below 200% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines, assisting them to overcome life-altering legal challenges, including family breakdowns, devastating debt, immigration status, threatened homelessness, and ongoing predatory practices that overwhelmingly target the poor, the elderly and individuals with disabilities.

The VLP values respect, dignity, and justice – fair access to the legal system must be afforded to all. At the heart of the VLP's model is the recognition that the pro bono commitment of the private bar can be most effective for underserved residents of Brooklyn to access justice. The VLP recruits, trains, and mentors volunteers from every legal background, who, unified in purpose, use their skills and talents to provide high quality, compassionate direct legal representation, advice and counsel and community education throughout Brooklyn. Volunteers outside the legal profession participate in outreach efforts including “know your rights” trainings and financial counseling as well as community forums and coalition building.