Dr. Lloyd Axworthy, Justice Colleen Suche, Court of Queen’s Bench, and Cory Shangreaux of Investors Group and a volunteer lawyer at the centre, open the Legal Help Centre on Wednesday, June 4, 2014. (HANDOUT)
A new legal assistance centre for low income families has opened to the public in downtown Winnipeg.
The Legal Help Centre is located on the second floor of Portage Place Shopping Centre and is a joint initiative of the University of Winnipeg and University of Manitoba.
“This highly visible community resource offers people with low incomes access to individualized information that they might not otherwise know about, which is the first step to making truly informed decisions,” said U of W president and vice-chancellor Dr. Lloyd Axworthy. “It also offers our students important real-life opportunities to develop critical skills and learn from the lived experiences of people within our diverse community.”
An official ribbon-cutting ceremony was held Wednesday.
Students from UWinnipeg’s global college and criminal justice department and from the U of M’s faculties of social work and law staff the centre under the supervision and direction of volunteer lawyers.
Drop-in clinics are open each Tuesday and Friday from 1-5 p.m. for information and referral. The free service is offered to those families earning under $50,000 annually.
