Académique Documents
Professionnel Documents
Culture Documents
Best Practices
Values (resiliency,
traditions, community)
Lack of resources
Employment and
education
Lack of legal literacy
Distance and lack of
transportation
Culturally appropriate
service
Utilizing local networks
Collaboration and
advocacy
Inter-disciplinary
teams and formalized
partnerships
Use of Technology
2
Values
Resiliency: important for self-image but can be a
barrier to asking for help; acknowledging mental
health issues an outsider thing to do
(Cohl & Thomson, 2008; Kelley, Sellick & Linkewich, 2003; Nelson, 1993;
Panazzola & Leipert, 2013; Pruitt & Showman, 2014)
Barriers
Few Resources
Diverse levels of poverty and community well-being, but broad
lack of resources in rural areas (Nuffield, 2003)
Distance and weaker economies of scale means services cost
more. Trend towards regionalizing services (Cohl & Thomson, 2008; Reid &
Malcolmson, 2008)
Barriers
Distance and lack of transportation
Primary barrier for rural/remote areas
Financial and logistical aspects
Low-income people tend to travel shorter
distances for legal services; some areas of
law require smaller geographic scopes
(Baxter & Yoon, 2014)
Barriers
Isolation
Geographic isolation exacerbated by defunding of
programs and poor transportation
Limited access to alternative ways of coping (Nelson, 1993)
Exacerbated for people dealing with multiple, complex
issues
Clients are generally unaware of the services available to
them; lack information
47% of Canadian communities, mostly rural and small
town, do not have broadband access (Cohl & Thomson, 2008)
Fewer resources for advocacy work, often leaves people
feeling isolated and alienated (Leering, 2001)
Barriers
Employment
Jobs are few and/or insufficient: seasonal/temporary,
precarious (Cohl & Thomson, 2008; Leering, 2001)
Clients generally uninformed/misinformed about rights or dont
exercise them out of fear or feeling they have no choice
Industries: agricultural, resource-based, manufacturing (Graham
& Underwood, 2012)
Education
Formal education less prevalent (Cohl & Thomson, 2008; Nelson, 1993)
Functional illiteracy is a problem (Leering, 2001) and is often
undetected, underestimated (Nelson, 1993)
Barriers
Lack of awareness, legal literacy
Inability to identify legal issues as legal
issues
Unaware of resources/services available
Confusion about who does what
Difficulties navigating systems and
processes
Best Practices
Culturally-appropriate service
Engaging clients as expert[s] in [their] own
right key to successful consultation in
response to resiliency (Sullivan et al., 2007)
Utilizing informal networks and community
members builds trust and buy-in
Foster more formal relationships between legal
and non-legal providers to help community
organizations (trusted intermediaries)
provide better legal info and referrals (Cohl &
Thomson, 2008)
Best Practices
Addressing distance barriers
Seeing clients where they live or close to
where they live (Leering, 2001)
Ex: Justice Bus in California (Pruitt & Showman, 2014)
Best Practices
Inter-/Transdisciplinary team models
Sullivan et al., 2007; D.G. Morgan et al., 2008; Nelson,
1993; Graham & Underwood, 2012; Hall et al., 2008
Best Practices
Utilizing Informal Networks
Provide services in rural areas
Utilizing access points of informal social
networks (churches, social clubs, local
businesses) increases outreach and facilitates
referrals through trusted intermediaries (Cohl
& Thomson, 2008; Leering, 2001; Nelson, 1993; Panazzola
& Leipert, 2013)
Best Practices
Agency collaborations
Proactive, consistent linking between local rural and urban
agencies
Builds trust and confidence in local agencies when
confidentiality is a concern
Improves service/agency visibility, sharing of resources, warm
referrals
Improves capacity for holistic service, supporting non-legal as
well as legal needs (Reid & Malcolmson, 2008)
Best Practices
Use of Technology
Technology can bridge distances between lawyers and clients,
and rural and urban lawyers to improve knowledge sharing and
collaboration
(Baxter & Yoon, 2014; Cohl & Thomson, 2008; Pruitt & Showman, 2014)
Important to note that rural populations experience more barriers to using technology
(poor bandwidth, no access to phones, expensive long distance fees, etc.) (Reid,
2008)