A Second Chance, Inc., to Offer Families, Community Expanded Access to Pro Bono Legal Services

Relatives Are Finding Needed Support with Permanency and Guardianship Issues  

For Immediate Release: (MEDIA)
March 12, 2019

CONTACT:
B. Denise Hawkins
412-512-4690 (mobile)
Bernadetteh@asecondchance-kinship.com

PITTSBURGH, Pa.—For nearly a year, A Second Chance, Inc. (ASCI) has provided a no-cost legal clinic at its Homewood campus to help put individuals and families on a path to justice and equity. Beginning in April, the agency will expand access to this clinic and its attorneys. 

When families served by ASCI who live in the community need legal referrals, information and services that would otherwise be out of reach financially, the legal clinic is a convenient and valuable resource. To celebrate the legal clinic’s expansion and new offices, ASCI will host an open house at the Rhonda D. Wright Family Center (8384 Frankstown Avenue) on Friday, March 29, from 12–2 p.m. Note: Media are invited to tour the legal clinic during the event. To schedule a tour and/or conduct onsite interviews with ASCI’s president and founder Dr. Sharon McDaniel and retired Family Court Judge Cheryl Allen, the clinic’s lead pro bono attorney, contact B. Denise Hawkins. 

“As a longtime provider of kinship care services for children and families in Allegheny County, ASCI takes a family’s access to justice, fairness and the law seriously,” says Dr. McDaniel, who launched the legal clinic in June 2018. “Being a good neighbor in this community is also important to us. That is why we make needed programs and services like the legal clinic accessible and free to families in the community. We believe that when families are strong, communities are strong.” 

Judge Allen adds, “The legal clinic has become a go-to resource for a growing number of caregivers looking for clarity on the process and access to experts in the law and kinship care.” More than 2.6 million children across the U.S. are raised in kinship care by grandparents, aunts, uncles, siblings, other extended family and close family friends, who step in to care for them when parents cannot. 

In addition to guardianship issues, the legal clinic also offers support with bankruptcy, child support, consumer/contracts, family law, landlord/tenant disputes, wills and estate planning, employment, tax matters and more.