A presentation at the Annual Addictions & Mental Health Conference, Toronto, May 26 2014 Innovation often starts at the local level, with the direct service provider identifying a gap or barrier in service and then sets about finding a creative way to address the issue. In Halton Region, Halton Community Legal Services’ Executive Director Colleen […]
Legal Aid Ontario (LAO) is committing $9 million over the next three years to help community and legal aid clinics improve access to justice and outcomes for low-income Ontarians. LAO will fund 15 clinic projects in this first funding instalment. This comes as a result of $30 million in additional funding announced by the Ontario […]
by Colleen Sym “I am not alone.” This is what participants told us they learned in a series of Town Hall meetings held across Halton Region in the winter of 2011. One participant in particular, Cathy, found the experience of solidarity compelling. She joined with other participants to form Voices for Change Halton (Voices), a peer-led, […]
In early June, the southwest legal clinics’ held a training conference with the theme of “Igniting the Service Revolution.” Held at University of Western’s London Hall on June 11-13, 2014, the conference demonstrated the types of possibilities available when strong regional leaders embrace the opportunity for investing in their communities. For more information from the […]
by Jack de Klerk The GTA Clinic Transformation Project didn’t start out as a grandiose plan on the part of a few dreamers. Rather, there were some relatively small problems that a couple of clinic directors thought they could fix if they worked together. Before very long, two clinics working together became six. Critically though, […]
by Jayne Mallin Clinic transformation ideas have been in the works ever since the provincial government announced in 2013 they were providing $30 million in additional funding to Legal Aid Ontario. Many of these great ideas are about to become a reality. LAO put out a call for proposals to clinics and other community organizations. […]
As senior counsel leading the charge on clinic transformation, I am thrilled that we now have an online presence. With this new page, we are able to provide comprehensive and timely information about this exciting initiative. My clinic experience is long and varied: I was a clinic staff lawyer at various clinics over the past […]