When a victim of a crime cannot afford an attorney, the Legal Aid Center of Southern Nevada can help.

Why the center says it has to expand, that's this week on Nevada Week.

♪♪♪ Support for Nevada Week is provided by Senator William H. Hernstadt.

-Welcome to Nevada Week.

I'm Amber Renee Dixon.

Every 38 minutes in Nevada, someone experiences a violent crime.

That's according to the Legal Aid Center of Southern Nevada, which helps victims of crime navigate the legal system.

The nonprofit law firm says last year nearly 5,000 victims of violent crime and their families sought the center's assistance, which right now is working to expand.

Barbara Buckley, Executive Director of the Legal Aid Center of Southern Nevada joins us now for an update on those efforts and legislative priorities.

Thank you for joining Nevada Week.

-Absolutely.

-So when did it come on your radar that you need to expand?

(Barbara Buckley) So over the last 10 years, the number of individuals being served by Legal Aid Center has nearly quadrupled.

We went from 58,000 to 200,000 last year, and with that expansion came size constraints.

We're completely out of space, and we cannot add one more person unless we expand.

-So this is not just for victims of violent crime, this is for everybody that you serve, the numerous offerings that you have: consumer advocacy, Ask-A-Lawyer, on and on.

I mean 200,000, that is the entire number of clients versus the 5,000 that we mentioned in the introduction.

So this is huge growth across the board.

-Huge, huge growth across the board.

We now represent every child in foster care, survivors of domestic violence and human trafficking, seniors who are in danger of exploitation.

So our services across the board have expanded to meet the needs of the community.

-Consumer protection, housing security, immigration, family law, children in foster care, special education, guardianship, and victims' rights.

You do a lot.

This center has been in existence since 1958, but when we focus on the victims of violent crime, when did that become a priority for the center?

-October 2, 2017.

Right after the Route 91 Harvest Festival shooting, we received a call from Clark County saying, The Federal Government is flying in, the State is flying in.

We need to find a way to serve the families of the victims and the survivors of the shooting.

We need to set up long-term services.

And we didn't have any set up.

We had volunteers flying from other communities to help, and the Clark County Office of Emergency Management said, We need to create our own.

They said, Legal Aid Center, you're wonderful at serving victims.

You represent every kid in foster care, domestic violence, why don't you help us build this?

And we were honored to do so.

-What rights do victims of violent crime have?

What services do they have access to?

-Yeah.

So in the aftermath of that, the Vegas Strong Resiliency Center was born, and we were asked to manage that.

And the services provided were, first of all, what do you do in the immediate shock?

There's a little known program called Victims of Crime Compensation, where we will help someone apply for emergency funding.

It's capped at a certain amount of money, 30- 40,000, and it's very kind of bureaucratic.

It's federally set up, right?

So you can get 5,000 in lost wages, 5,000 for funeral expenses.

We will help someone navigate that.

There's legal issues that come up, like we were helping a woman who was shot, in a wheelchair, she lived in a second floor apartment.

She couldn't get up the steps, so we reach out to the landlord, get her a reasonable accommodation and into a first-floor unit.

And then the center provides mental health services and support that are supplied by the State of Nevada Health and Human Services.

So it's a multidisciplinary center to serve victims of crime as they're grappling with the consequences.

-How common is that elsewhere to have that combination of legal services and mental health services?

-It's first in the nation-- -Wow.

- --and it makes so much sense, and it's so rewarding to be able to do that, because, you know, when you're suffering from a trauma, it's hard to put one foot ahead of each other, right?

And our goal is to build resiliency, to build strength, and providing that immediate support is life changing.

-And the Vegas Strong Resiliency Center, which is now-- I'm sorry that I continue to refer to it as the Vegas Strong Resiliency Center.

It's now titled?

-The Resiliency & Justice Center.

-Resiliency & Justice Center.

And that is going to be part of this expansion?

-Yes.

-That the old location will be part of this new location?

-Yes.

We rebranded to note the time when the center was open to all victims of crime.

Originally, when it was set up, it was set up for those who were affected by the October 1 shooting, and, fortunately, we were able to expand, thanks to the help of Clark County to help all victims of crime and to be the hub if there's any mass incidents of violence in the community, such as when there was the shooting at UNLV.

We immediately get called into service to help.

-And how did your ability to respond to that compare to-- well, night and day, compared to One October, right?

-Night and day.

-What did it look like, that response?

-Yeah.

So what happens is, we get a phone call.

So part of our team goes to the Convention Center to support Clark County and the Office of Emergency Management as the students are bussed in, because, remember, when an emergency happens, you have no idea what it's going to turn out to be.

You get a call saying, There's an active shooter; please be prepared to activate.

You don't know.

-That's all you get.

-That's all you get.

So part of the team goes over to help the victims on site.

Part of the team goes to help activate the emergency call line, which is 702-455-AIDE, A-I-D-E.

So instead of-- instead of calling 911, let the emergency responders deal with the emergencies.

This is the victim support line, and then that's also housed at our office and will be housed in the new facility as we expand.

-Perhaps people may miss the importance of this to the actual first responders themselves.

How does this aid them?

-Yeah.

You know, in the past, you know, our first responders face extraordinary situations, you know, bravely and effectively, but they're responding to an immediate need.

They don't have the facilities or time or staff to provide victim support, especially in the long term.

We can work with victims for years.

Our goal, of course, is to help people recover quickly, get connected to resources that exist, get legal help, get mental health support so that burden is taken off the first responders.

And it also helps them as they hear success stories.

-Are these services now viewed as part of an emergency response?

When you talk about funding our first responders, funding police, does this belong in the same discussion?

-Yes, it does, because in the past, we had nothing set up.

The Red Cross does a great job stepping in for 24 to 72 hours, but grief and crisis doesn't end there.

It continues.

And that is why this has been added to the milieu in responding to crimes and natural disasters.

In fact, one of the many positive outcomes that came from that experience of being unprepared is the state statute was amended to require victim services to be added to all emergency management plans throughout the state.

-Is that what you were referencing when, off camera, I asked you about a quote from 2018?

That quote was that, "The state of victims' rights and victim services needs an overhaul in the state of Nevada."

You told that to the Nevada Independent in 2018.

-Yes, and we've been working on it ever since.

And some amazing changes have been made in terms of how you access Victims of Crime Compensation--it's easier-- adding victim services to emergency management, and the designation of the Resiliency Center as the state's first statewide victim assistance program.

So we have continued to layer on, to learn, to improve, to add.

Just last year we received a new grant to help, from Caesars Entertainment, to provide help to survivors of human trafficking.

So we're continuing to grow and expand to meet the state's needs.

-The Advocacy & Justice Complex, when is that set to open?

-So we will break ground in two months, in June, and it is set to open in August of 2026.

-Is it completely funded?

-We've raised 85% of the funds needed, and we have 5 million left to go.

-Level of concern about getting that?

-Oh, with the generosity of this community, I am sure we will raise all the funds we need this year.

And what the complex allows us to do, right now the Resiliency & Justice Center is in leased space on West Charleston, so victims of crime will go there, and then they'll have to drive back to East Charleston to get the legal help.

What the construction of the complex will allow us to do is colocate all staff serving victims of crime to save on that lease cost and put that back in operation.

To be able to expand and locate it on the center will be the Resiliency & Justice Center staff, our Family Justice Project helping survivors of domestic violence, and our team stopping elder exploitation through our guardianship work.

So all in one spot, right across the street from our main headquarters.

-So much to talk about with everything you just said in there.

I do want to stick with funding for a little bit.

I believe he told me operating costs will be covered by Clark County?

-For the Resiliency & Justice Center, yes.

They have provided a base level of funding to make sure the center is always able to help victims of crime and to be able to respond if there is a community emergency again.

-Is that in perpetuity?

-Well, Commissioner Jim Gibson, when he approved the year, the annual contract, which then can be extended for four years, "And as far as I'm concerned, you have a contract for life."

So I'll hold them to it.

But the commissioners have been wonderful, and they see the difference it makes in the community.

-Right.

And for those who don't see the difference, if I'm a victim of a crime, do I get a lawyer automatically?

What happens, especially if I can't afford a lawyer?

-Yeah.

So the first thing we do is help assess your situation.

Usually, in the immediate aftermath of the crime, you're just trying to get resources.

You're trying to get your bearings.

Where do you do-- where do you go first?

So let's just say you're a victim of a violent home invasion and you're on a limited income, you're a senior.

We might help you figure out how to get the door fixed.

We might figure out how to get some emergency medical costs.

You may be scared to death and want to relocate.

We can help figure out how to negotiate with your landlord and get the funds to relocate.

-But I have to come to you, it's not that I'm being given an attorney immediately?

-Right.

You would call, you would immediately be able to speak to an advocate, and then it depends what legal help you need.

Like some it's easy to give.

Calling a landlord, helping you with a Victims of Crime Compensation Application, we can do all of that.

And then it depends on the complexity of your need, right?

Some matters are easy.

Where we are only able to help a fraction of the people in need is domestic violence cases.

We have six full-time attorneys and another who helps with emergency, temporary protective orders.

But the need's so great.

It will take us time to expand to be able to help everyone.

-I say it like that, that I would have to come to you, only because if I commit a crime, I am automatically given a public defender, right?

-It's a cruel irony, right?

If you're accused of a crime, you automatically get an attorney.

But with us, we are raising money to be able to help the victims.

And we're not all the way there, right?

We're able to provide guidance and mental health resources to everyone.

Easy navigation, but we have to continue to build our legal resources to keep up.

-How much of a threat is the removal of federal funding from your organization?

-Yeah, we're not completely reliant on federal funding.

We have diversified greatly over the years, and so most of our funding is state, county, and grants and philanthropy.

But we do receive some money to help represent kids in foster care.

So, like all nonprofits-- well, like most people, we're worried.

-And that's something that was or is very important to you, representing every single child in the Clark County Foster Care system.

That-- I mean, I think it's been important to you for a while, but when did you set that goal for the organization, and where does it stand now?

-So I set that goal in 1999 when I received our first grant and hired our first attorney and took our first case.

And over the years, we gradually added attorneys and gradually increased the number of kids we could help.

And then 20 years after we started, we reached the goal of representing 3,800 kids on any given day and up to 6,000 kids a year.

-It's wild to think that that did not exist beforehand.

-We were one of the last jurisdictions in the nation that had no independent legal representation for kids.

And the irony would be, you know, the parent accused of abuse would have an attorney, the child welfare agency would have an attorney, but the most important person in the courtroom, in my opinion, is the kid.

Now we have leveled that playing field.

And the judges really listen to our lawyers, because we visit every child where they live multiple times.

We develop a bond with that child.

We tell us-- you know, and it's empowering.

A 10 year old says, I have a lawyer?

Like they've only seen lawyers on TV, and it changes their lives.

There was a young lady I recall really, really vividly.

She didn't have a lawyer the first time she was brought into foster care, and she was returned.

The second time, she had a lawyer.

We had built up our program, and she told her lawyer, I don't feel safe at home.

I feel safe with my grandma.

That is where I want to live.

And we argued that for the judge.

We presented evidence, the judge ruled with us, and she walked out that day.

She said it was the best 14th birthday present she ever could have received with an order saying she could live with her grandma.

Well, now she's on her way to law school.

-Aha.

-She said, I got the bug.

I want to represent, you know, the underdog.

So changing a kid's life like that, there's nothing better.

-We are going to do a Nevada Week In Person segment with you as well, and, as I understand it, you didn't know what an attorney was as a child.

You had never known one.

-Right?

No.

I grew up lower middle class, right?

I never met a lawyer until I became a legal secretary for a lawyer.

But I never thought I could be a lawyer, because in high school they said be a secretary or be a nurse.

-We'll get more into that on that particular segment.

Let's talk more about the services at this particular complex.

What are you doing with the elderly?

-Yeah.

So, many of your viewers may recall that several years ago, there were stories of the elderly being taken out of their homes, put into guardianships.

There was one predatory guardian, in particular, who ended up going to prison.

She would take people from their homes, put them in group homes, sell their homes, and then bill against their estate their life savings, sometimes 26 hours a day at $500 an hour.

And it became widespread.

Guardians were looting the estates of the elderly.

So there was a Nevada Supreme Court commission to find out, what should we be doing to prevent this?

And one of the reforms that came out of it is we should have a trustworthy lawyer who has no financial stake in the matter appointed to represent the elderly to make sure they're keeping everybody honest and to make sure the elderly person's voice is heard.

And so they asked us to do that.

And so we began, again, with one case, and now we have 3,800 open cases.

And, again, it's life changing.

We were called to visit a senior in the hospital, and we said, We have a guardianship petition that was filed over you-- -This is a person that comes in and says, I want to be your guardian.

I'm going to go take it to the courts and file that?

-So that was filed, and then the court gives us a copy of the filing.

And they say, you go talk to the protected person, the person over whom the guardianship is sought.

So we will meet that person, and we'll say, Do you know who this person is that filed guardianship?

And sometimes they might say, It's my daughter and, yes, I need the help and this is all agreed upon.

Sometimes they'll say, This is my neighbor.

What on earth are they doing?

And they're trying to get control of his assets, and so we oppose it at the person's consent.

We report them to the Metropolitan Police Department for elder abuse, and we stop it before it happens.

-Only about five minutes left, but we have a couple more important topics to get to.

This legislative session, what is the center's priority?

-So every legislative session, we have a nonprofit policy director who goes up there to represent people of limited means.

So the housing and homeless crisis, representing ideas to help kids in foster care, consumer protection--you name it, we're working on it.

-And this session you are in particular support of?

Could you name one or two bills?

-Yeah.

So one of the most important bills that will help the homeless and the affordable housing crisis is the eviction diversion program.

This program has really snuck under the radar.

But you know, the best way to prevent it, to address homelessness, is to prevent it from happening in the first place.

So the Las Vegas Justice Court, Clark County Social Services, and Legal Aid Center of Southern Nevada have been working on an eviction diversion program.

We received funding from the state last time, and this time we're seeking renewed funding.

And what it does is before if a senior or a person with disability gets an eviction notice, they're diverted.

They then get to work with a social worker and our lawyer, get rental assistance, and a permanent solution is sought.

It makes so much sense.

-And how much of a difference do you think?

-82% success rate in its first year.

-Wow.

Any fears that that funding may not be renewed?

-I am confident that anyone looking at the statistics will support it.

Speaker Steve Yeager, Senate Majority Leader Cannizzaro, the governor's office, I believe they all support it.

-Okay.

As I mentioned earlier, Immigration Services is part of what you do.

What are you experiencing right now as there is a threat of mass deportations?

-Yeah.

So our priorities are victims of crime and children, in keeping with what we do at the Legal Aid Center.

And so our clients are worried.

We're receiving call after call.

There's concern that if there's family separation, we'll have kids who are abandoned here.

So a lot of concern on the radar.

Rules are changing every single day, and it's a shame, because I think most people are in favor of sensible immigration reform.

No one wants violent felons in our community, right?

But we shouldn't be separating moms from their kids.

We shouldn't be instilling fear.

-You gave me an example when we spoke on the phone of something with paperwork and filing regards, in regards to children.

Will you remind me of what you're having to do now as a result of the new administration.

-Yeah.

So it's been just so incredibly busy.

One thing that happened is victims of crime, who we serve, there's a certain application they need to submit.

And the form was changed to eliminate pronouns, so we had to redo every form, which took so much time.

Usually there's a grace period given, 30 days to use the new form.

We're also preparing deportation guidelines so that if a parent has US citizen children, they can give a temporary, limited guardianship to a relative.

And it's sad, right?

It's plan ahead for losing your child, because if a parent is deported and they're in jail, they need someone trustworthy to take care of their child.

Those are the type of things that we're doing at Legal Aid.

-That's a lot to take in.

Yeah.

The first example you mentioned, though, it doesn't make sense, because I thought that the Trump administration does not want to have people referring to themselves as anything but male and female.

But you're saying-- -The previous form had those boxes on it.

So in their haste, right, instead of thinking everything through and delaying the revised form introduction, it was immediate.

So all the victims of crime who were in the middle of processing their applications had to redo them all, and that requires law enforcement certification.

So law enforcement had to take the time to redo all these forms, and so it just created double work.

-And this is delaying what, for example?

-Yeah.

I mean the victims of crime who cooperate with law enforcement, who put, you know, criminals away, would have their ability to remain in the United States jeopardized.

It could jeopardize the criminal prosecution.

It could jeopardize the safety of that victim.

-Barbara Buckley, Executive Director of the Legal Aid Center of Southern Nevada, thank you so much for joining Nevada Week.

-Thank you.

-And thank you for watching.

For any of the resources discussed, go to vegaspbs.org/nevadaweek.

And I'll see you next week on Nevada Week.

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