You can help us turn this:

into this:

The JusticeAccess mobile law library does not need a strong foundation of brick and mortar; we need a paved road to travel to our patrons.

Every mile paved adds color to the picture and brings new possibilities to our work.

What can your donation do specifically? Here are just a few examples:

$18 pays for postage for four incarcerated patrons

$36 pays for 3 months of mobile data for Internet access at community events

$54 pays for one presentation to a community organization (reaching as many as 50 people)

$100 pays for flyers to reach 250 people

$240 pays for one library visit (helping as many as twelve patrons!)

$540 pays wages for 20 hours of work by an intern

Would you prefer to make a monthly donation? Join the JusticeDrivers.

Some of the potholes on the road to justice:

📖 Literacy

According to the Washington Literacy Center, over 119,000 adult residents of the District have low literacy skills. More legal information is published openly online every day, but for people with low literacy skills, that information remains inaccessible. JusticeAccess' practice of walking through research with patrons alleviates some of this barrier.

🕰 Schedules

DC's traditional law libraries are open primarily during standard business hours, providing very little flexibility for their users. JusticeAccess offers services until 9pm and on Sundays, times when other law libraries are not open.

🍼 Childcare

Parents of young children need to arrange childcare, or bring their children with them, when attending to personal matters. Traditional law libraries are not friendly to children; JusticeAccess' Virtual Reference Desk allows parents to receive assistance with no childcare arrangements necessary.

🌍 Geography

The traditional law libraries in DC that are open to members of the public are not located in the areas of the District with the greatest need. While DC does have decent public transit, routes that require transfers or buses can take significantly longer than trips by car. Furthermore, the legacy of neglect of the communities east of the Anacostia River remains ever-present in the minds of long-time residents such that services available only downtown and on the Metro's red line may as well be inaccessible. JusticeAccess visits service locations throughout the District as well as providing service online.

🔒 Security

Access to the traditional law libraries in DC that are open to members of the public requires passing through security checkpoints. For our unhoused neighbors, this can be an irritation, or it can prevent access altogether. The presence of uniformed security can itself be a source of anxiety for some of our neighbors, especially given the current state of the country. JusticeAccess' Virtual Reference Desk removes security from the patron's experience. Security officers are present at public libraries during Community Reference Desk events, but there is no checkpoint, and bags are not searched or questioned.

🇸🇻 Language

Laws and other legal resources tend to be written in a dense approximation of English. For DC's large immigrant population, the language of legal information can be an impenetrable barrier. JusticeAccess works with translators and interpreters to make legal information usable by our neighbors with limited English proficiency.

*We are permitted to solicit donations in Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, DC, Delaware, Florida, Indiana, Iowa, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New York, South Dakota, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, and Wyoming.

Paving the Road to Justice

Donate today to bring legal information to our neighbors