Disaster Relief Team

Bay Area Legal Services has received funding to develop a team dedicated to long-term recovery from hurricane survivors: The Disaster Relief Team.

Our unique team serves those who are survivors of Hurricane Irma or Maria. We are a disaster recovery program focused on services as they relate to one of these named storms.

Our services cover a five-county region: Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco, Manatee, and Sarasota. Displaced hurricane victims, as long as they are currently living in these areas, are encouraged to apply for our services.

Our team readily provides legal services for hurricane survivors, but also offers unmet social services needs through a dedicated case manager. Because of our widely-cast net of service, we can provide an extensive amount of assistance to needy clients (from bankruptcy to roof repairs).

To continue our services and expand our ability to help survivors, we need your help!

As part of the Volunteer Lawyers Program, we need volunteer attorneys who are willing to assist individuals impacted by Irma or Maria. No legal specialty is required, as numerous types of legal issues arise from disaster impacts. We also welcome any level of involvement, as we have plenty of clients simply in need of consultation and drafting simple legal documents – aside from those needing involved representation.

If you are interested in reviewing our disaster-related case summaries for pro bono assistance, you are encouraged to register to volunteer and select "Disaster Relief" when submitting your form.

Disaster Training Resources

The Disaster Relief Team is currently working on pro bono attorney training videos. In the interim, we highly recommend these disaster training resources:

• DisasterLegalAid.org: Equal Just Works Disaster Training Videos
• DisasterLegalAid.org: National Disaster Legal Aid Advocacy Center
• FLAdvocate.org: Disaster Legal Resources