Legal Services of the Virgin Islands Mobile Justice Unit on St. Croix. Photo Credit: LSVI.
Legal Services of the Virgin Islands (LSVI) on September 26 debuted its mobile command center branded as the "Mobile Justice Units" (MJU) at Emancipation Park in Frederiksted. LSVI said the introduction of these vehicles to the territory will support LSVI's mission to access justice, protect rights, and educate people in poverty to empower them to move toward self-sufficiency and were made possible thru the support of a grant awarded by Legal Services Corporation.
“When people see the Mobile Justice Units, they will know that critical help for the often neglected and disenfranchised citizens is closer than ever before. The LSVI Mobile Justice Units are coming to a neighborhood near you,” said Attorney Shelby King Gaddy, executive director of LSVI.
In attendance were LSVI staff and board members, in addition to government officials, V.I. Police Commissioner Trevor Velinor, Deputy Police Commissioner Celvin Walwyn, Director of the Office of Disaster Recovery Adrienne Williams-Octalien, V.I. judicial branch administrator Regina Petersen and a representative from the office of Delegate to Congress Stacey Plaskett.
LSVI will be holding the St.Thomas launch event today at the Fort Christian Parking lot (adjacent to Fort Christian).
Funded by a grant from the Legal Services Corporation, the MJUs are a part of LSVI’s overall strategy to deliver services to the low income and elderly communities wherever they are to increase their access to justice, LSVI said in a release. These Mobile Justice Units are ADA compliant mobile legal services offices, outreach centers and technology hotspots that were designed with the goal of eliminating the barriers that may otherwise prevent people from seeking the help they need.
The MJUs are of a size and utility that allow LSVI to dispatch quickly and effectively to support under-served communities in the St. Croix and St. Thomas/St. John districts. By employing these innovative Mobile Justice Units, LSVI and said its pro bono attorneys can travel to low-income clients and provide them access to the staff and services needed for the protection of their rights and to resolve their civil legal issues.
LSVI said the MJUs are symbolic of LSVI’s unwavering dedication to seeking access to justice, protecting the rights of residents, and educating people in poverty in order to empower them to move toward self-sufficiency, LSVI said.
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