Mower County women who need help securing their legal rights will continue to benefit from a McKnight grant given to Southern Minnesota Legal Services.

Thursday, January 06, 2000

Mower County women who need help securing their legal rights will continue to benefit from a McKnight grant given to Southern Minnesota Legal Services.

The grant will continue to fund a position at the law office that provides family law services to low-income residents of a five-county area.

In addition to Mower County, Southern Minnesota Legal Services of Albert Lea serves low-income families in Freeborn, Faribault, Rice and Steele counties by providing free legal services.

"We’ve got the funding for the past six years and now we’re fortunate enough to get another three years," Gary Hird, managing attorney at Southern Minnesota Legal Services, said. "We will get $48,000 each year.

"That either directly funds a position" or covers other expenses, Hird said. Primarily, the money will fund a lawyer position that the office otherwise would not be able to finance.

"Because of the this funding, we have greatly expanded the number of families we are able to help," Hird said.

The McKnight dollars are intended to help battered and minority women. The legal services are provided at no cost to those who are below 125 percent of the poverty level.

"We’ll also use the money to work with various victims’ services in the area," Hird said. The attorneys also help women file orders for protection.

The McKnight Foundation will contribute $1.88 million over three years to 10 non-profit organizations that provide family law services to low-income women in Minnesota. The 10 grants are the first to be made under a new $3.6 million initiative aimed at protecting the safety and financial well-being of low-income women and their children through the law.

Southern Minnesota Legal Services and other organizations help women secure their rights in matters such as child custody, divorce, orders for protection, paternity and adoption.

"Many women endure poverty and fear for years because they do not know their rights under the law," said Noa Staryk, chair of McKnight’s board of directors, which recently approved the grants. "The organizations we work with have provided thousands of hours of advice and legal representation to low-income women. In addition, they have brought about changes in the system so that domestic abuse cases are heard more quickly and orders for child support are better enforced. These changes help women get on with their lives and provide for their families."

The new initiative will bring McKnight’s total commitment over the nine years to $7.2 million.