“It is an unfortunate truth that the history of disabled persons in Canada is largely one of  exclusion and marginalization.”

-Justice LaForest for the court in Eldridge v. B.C., [1997] 3 SCR 624

 

Who we are:

reachAbility has offered innovative and effective programming for people with disabilities across Nova Scotia for over ten years.  We emphasize fairness, not special treatment, and have won high praise for our achievements – including awards from the Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission, the Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society, and letters of commendation from the mayor of Halifax.

 

What the reachAbility Legal Referral Service Does:

reachAbility’s longest-running program is our legal referral service.  It connects a Nova Scotian with a disability and a legal question to a lawyer who practices in the area of their concern.

The time commitment that we ask from our volunteer lawyers is small – it’s only a single one-hour consultation each year, although any of our volunteers are free to extend their commitment further, should they choose to do so.

We emphasize to all of our clients that the purpose of the Referral Service is to provide legal information and advice, not legal representation.

 

Why the Service is Necessary:

Although things have begun to change since Justice LaForest wrote the Eldridge decision in 1997, Canadians with disabilities still face enormous stigma and inequality in the course of their daily lives.  They face a greater likelihood of poverty, which means limited access to legal resources.  This inequality is further aggravated because people with disabilities also have a greater need for legal resources than the general population; the potentially vulnerable position of those with disabilities means that they need to know their rights, and must be able to act on those rights.

We take hundreds of calls every year on all types of legal questions. Our service is actively relied upon by the one in five Nova Scotians who self-identify as having a disability, and is an essential source for the legal information and advice necessary for basic legal access and self-advocacy.

 

Who Volunteers:

We currently have over 300 volunteer lawyers active on our roster from all across Nova Scotia.  Those lawyers are publicly demonstrating – to their communities, clients, and firm partners – a commitment to accessible justice.  That commitment, however, also has heft: it makes an immediate difference in the life of a Nova Scotians with a disability.

 

How you can Volunteer:

If you’re a lawyer who’s interested in joining our referral service, as many of your colleagues have already done, please take a moment to fill out the volunteer lawyer application. You can fax it back to us at (902) 429-5858 or complete it online.

If you have any questions about the Legal Referral Service, or any of reachAbility’s programs, feel free to get in touch by calling (902) 429-5878 or emailing legal@reachability.org.

 

Thanks to:

The Law Foundation of Nova Scotia for funding the Legal Referral Service and all the lawyers who generously donate their time.