Welcome to our website. Florida Rural Legal Services, Inc. (FRLS) was founded in 1966 as a private, non-profit corporation. FRLS provides free civil legal assistance to indigents and low-income elderly people in thirteen counties in South Central Florida. FRLS also provides legal assistance to migrant workers throughout the state of Florida.

Currently, FRLS has 6 offices, with a staff of 70 including 25 attorneys specializing in Elder Law, Employment, Economic Stability, Housing and Farm-Worker Law. We also provide high quality services in such areas as Public Benefits, Civil Rights and Family Law. Each year FRLS handles between 4,000 to 5,000 cases.

Kinds of Cases We Handle

AJ was the victim of severe domestic violence. She had gone to court on her own but had been unable to obtain an injunction for protection. When she came to our office she was in fear for her life. We scheduled another hearing, bringing medical records and photographs into court as evidence, as well as two police officers as witnesses. Our client received an indefinite injunction and is now living in a safe environment.

CW was a rural senior living on meager retirement benefits. She had placed her income into a bank account with her daughter and came to our office when the account was seized in garnishment proceedings. Without funds, she had received an electricity shut off notice. We were able to prove that the account monies were not the property of the daughter and the garnishment was dismissed. Our client was able to restore her utilities.

ML’s mobile home was destroyed by flood waters from Tropical Storm Fay. She and many other families were evacuated to a shelter. We provided legal assistance at the shelter. As a result of advocacy efforts with local government and an appeal to FEMA, we were able to secure almost $24,000 in replacement housing assistance for our client. ML is now working with a local non-profit to secure new housing with those funds.

SG had owned her home for 18 years. Upon arrival at our office, she had just lost a final judgment in foreclosure, although she insisted that her mortgage payments were current. We got the judgment set aside and asked for the lender’s records. We were able to show a discrepancy in the way payments were credited to her account. As a result, the lender agreed to modify the mortgage and SG kept her home.

JS became ill and was hospitalized after being exposed to pesticides while working in an orange grove. She was later sued for her treatment costs. We defended her suit and helped her to file a belated claim for workers compensation benefits against her employer. After much discovery, the hospital agreed to discount their bill and the employer agreed to pay the new amount. The lawsuit was dismissed and our client’s credit reputation was restored.

Some of our Accomplishments

In the past year we were able to achieve many good results for our clients. A partial list of some of the cumulative benefit amounts from 2008 is as follows;

• Social security benefits . . . $327,384

• Unemployment benefits . . . $279,597

• Child support . . . $569,476

• Alimony . . . $91,618

• Food stamps, welfare, etc. . . . $90,472

• Medicaid . . . $174,185

• Medicare . . . $253,105

• Wages, assets protected from garnishment or repossession . . . $162,354

Our offices closed almost 4,700 cases for individuals in 2008, and they provided free legal information and education to over 16,000 persons, on a wide range of topics.