LIFT’s mission is to enhance access to justice for children and families by providing legal information, community education, and compassionate guidance, while promoting system-wide reform of the courts and public agencies.

Description and/or History:
For more than a decade, LIFT has been a pioneer and leader in promoting access to justice for low-income families embroiled in the New York City Family Court system. We are the only organization in the City dedicated to empowering court-involved families by providing them with the tools they need to advocate for themselves in court.

During the past year, LIFT served nearly 55,000 people - 92% of whom did not have a lawyer and the majority of whom were Black or Latina women. LIFT also works to inform statewide reform of the courts by serving on a wide range of influential advisory committees and coalitions. With no other organization doing this work in the City, LIFT’s one-of-a-kind programs address a significant, and otherwise unmet, need.

To accomplish this mission, LIFT operates the following programs:

-Family Court-Based Education & Information Sites (EI Sites) operate in the New York City Family Courts. At the Sites, located in the entranceways and waiting areas of the courthouses, bilingual Coordinators provide litigants with: legal information, multilingual Legal Resource Guides, and referrals to community-based organizations.

-A Legal Information Hotline operates Monday - Friday from 9am - 5 pm. Hotline associates provide callers with legal information, Family Court option and referrals to community based organizations.

-The Family Legal Center offers intensive, individually tailored, legal information and support to parents and grandparents involved in child support, custody, and visitation.

-The Legal Education Program brings vitally important legal information into New York City’s neediest communities. The program’s overarching goal is to keep families out of the courts when possible and accelerate the resolution of cases when they do seek judicial relief.

Contact person: Ruth Vega, (646) 613-9633 ext 212, (email)

Address:

350 Broadway, Suite 400 New York, NY 10013 (See a map)

Directions:

From Canal Street, turn onto Broadway headed downtown.   Nearest Metro/Subway Stop: N, Q, R, W, 6 to Canal,   Walk distance (in minutes): 3