Who We Are

Funded by a seed grant from Ford Foundation, the South Carolina Justice Navigators Network is a pilot project of Georgetown University Law Center in partnership with Legal Link, an organization which trains and supports community social service providers to deliver “Legal First Aid” to their clients. Based in California’s Bay Area, Legal Link has trained over 1,000 frontline staff in Legal First Aid since its founding in 2015. Its network of trained navigators improves the access to justice ecosystem by: a) identifying their clients’ legal problems at an early stage; b) creating accurate, timely referrals to legal service providers, and c) facilitating community members’ use of existing tools and self-help materials. The Lowcountry pilot is adapting Legal Link’s highly successful training model in the Charleston, South Carolina Tri-County area, and is developing technological tools to support navigators’ work.

Our Work is Rooted in Hope

Charleston is home to a network of legal and social services providers who are open to exploring this early crisis intervention and prevention model to address the justice gap.

Nearly twenty organizations in the Charleston area are committed to sending staff members to be trained in 2023 – approximately 200 social service professionals will become justice navigators. The program is already at capacity for the year. The range of community service providers is broad and includes: organizations that assist men experiencing homelessness, support survivors of domestic violence, provide financial training and counseling for women to achieve economic independence, assist with re-entry post incarceration, and assist with career readiness for people experiencing barriers to employment.

The enthusiasm from Charleston community social service providers reflects an obvious reality: These service providers are already struggling to help their clients with justice problems and are eager to learn about legal resources so they can do it better.