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Eastern and central region community

legal clinic transformation project


Rural literature
Presented at:
Oversight committee meeting, March 18, 2015

Rural service delivery


Themes

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
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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)

Close-knit communities: effective social networks,


but can negatively impact perceptions of privacy and
confidentiality (Graham & Underwood, 2012; Nelson, 1993;
Pruitt & Showman, 2014)

Attachment to tradition (Pruitt & Showman, 2014): high


acquaintanceship in sparse populations, greater
consensus re: values and morals this is changing as
rural demographics change
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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)

Mistrust of government services/programs, service delivery


agencies
Other barriers are difficult to overcome, especially
transportation
Clients tend to have multiple issues for which they are not
receiving adequate supports
Women, LGBTQ, racialized newcomer communities face social
isolation (Biesenthal, 2000; Cohl & Thomson, 2008; Panazzola &
Leipert, 2013)

Attracting and keeping staff in rural/remote areas is a


challenge (Baxter & Yoon, 2014; Nuffield, 2003; TORC, 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)

Barrier to accessing justice in the first


place, but also compounds legal issues
when clients miss hearings, appointments
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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)

Shift work is typical, child-care is especially difficult


These industries are also closing, resulting in job losses
Physically demanding work

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)

Incentive programs should focus on areas


of law where close proximity matters most
(Baxter & Yoon, 2014)

Lawyers in urban centres with bigger


geographic scopes could support areas of
law where proximity is less of an issue
(Baxter & Yoon, 2014)
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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

Complex issues: rural context means clients


often dealing with multiple, complex issues
(social factors compounded by lack of formal
support systems)
Complex issues and infrequent service and
follow-up means that comprehensive
services become more essential to success
in communities that are less dense, more
remote
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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)

Builds trust and community buy-in when


faced with resistance to outsiders
Involving local community members also builds
trust and greatly improves communication
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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)

Advocacy, systemic work


Collaboration improves capacity to do systemic advocacy work
(Leering, 2001; etc.)
Thick access to justice (Pruitt & Showman, 2014) address
individual needs along with root causes and systemic barriers
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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)

Clients need local or toll-free numbers to curb financial barrier to


phone access
Hotlines most effective with follow-up/support, good referrals
Web resources for information, live-help, and consultation, selfhelp resources
Effective if paired with in-person interactions; Important tool for
intermediaries to use while assisting clients (Reid & Malcolmson, 2008)

Cannot replace in-person supports for vulnerable clients


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