One lawyer - A programme supporting street-connected people in Greece

An innovative legal aid programme has been launched as a collaboration between HumanRights360 and Steps. The 'Street Lawyering' programme will provide legal aid to street-connected people in situations of vulnerability, including people who are homeless, people who use drugs and sex workers.

The programme responds to the needs of socially-marginalised people who do not have adequate access to the country's welfare and support infrastructure. People who are impacted by precarity (incl. victims of the financial crisis, people who use drugs, sex workers and migrants in situations of distress) will now be able to discuss legal challenges and receive information and guidance on how to affirm their rights.

Acknowledging the challenges of navigating justice, police, administrative and bureaucratic procedures, the programme seeks to support street-connected people in overcoming legal issues that may be at the heart of, or accentuate, exclusion, precarity and vulnerability.

The programme's lawyer, Katerina Pournara, will provide legal advice in downtown Athens 3 days per week. 'Usually, the lawyer sits on their desk providing advice or solutions already determined from the initial request. We invert this common practice, in a world that is already upside-down, by going to the streets to understand realities, investigate requests and provide advice and assistance to people who may not be initially in a situation to ask for it', said Pournara, who will oversee the programme.

For more information, please contact Emmanouela Soldatou, Research and Advocacy Coordinator in STEPS, email: soldatou@steps.org.gr, tel.: 6989776739