We are proud to celebrate Grace power, AVLF Managing Attorney of the Safe Families Office, on her selection to the Atlanta Bar Association’s Leadership Academy Class of 2026.

Established in 2025, the Leadership Academy is designed to help attorneys grow as leaders within the Atlanta Bar, the legal profession, and the broader community. The six-week program includes CLE training sessions led by legal, corporate, and community leaders, as well as opportunities for community service, in-house counsel visits, and engagement with the Atlanta Bar Association.

Through this experience, Grace will join fellow legal leaders from across the Atlanta Metro Area to build new skills, strengthen connections, and deepen her commitment to service.

We are thrilled to celebrate Grace and this well-deserved recognition of her leadership. We look forward to seeing all that she will learn, contribute, and bring back to AVLF through this experience.

Learn more about Grace Power, Staff Profile

Meet the 2026 Leadership Academy Class, Linkedin

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The Emancipation Proclamation was signed on January 1, 1863. It declared every enslaved person in the Confederate states legally free. And then, for two and a half years, nothing changed in Texas.

It wasn’t until federal troops finally arrived in Galveston in June 1865 that the more than 250,000 enslaved people in Texas actually heard the words: “you are free.” Two and a half years. The law existed. Freedom did not.

That gap between what the law says and what people actually live is not just a chapter in a history book. It is the reason organizations like the Atlanta Volunteer Lawyers Foundation exist. And understanding one helps you understand the other.

The Arrival

On the morning of June 19, 1865, Union Major General Gordon Granger arrived on the island of Galveston to take command of the federal troops recently landed in Texas to enforce the emancipation of its enslaved population. He read General Order No. 3 aloud. “The people of Texas are informed that, in accordance with a Proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free.”

The formerly enslaved people of Texas did not celebrate a law that day. They celebrated the arrival of people who would finally enforce the law.

The following year, freedmen in Texas organized the first annual celebration of Emancipation Day on June 19. As Black Texans migrated across the country over the following decades, they carried the tradition with them. Juneteenth grew from a local reunion into a national reckoning, and in 2021, it became a federal holiday.

But the lesson at the heart of it never changed. Rights are not self-executing. Someone has to show up.

The Founders Who Knew That Firsthand

In 1948, ten African American lawyers gathered in Atlanta in the office of civil rights attorney Austin Walden and formed the Gate City Bar Association. They organized out of necessity. Certain judges and attorneys would not afford them the same privileges, respect, and regard as their white counterparts.

These were lawyers. People who had studied the law, passed the bar, and dedicated their careers to the legal system. And still, the legal system treated them as lesser. They knew better than almost anyone what it meant to have rights that were not being enforced.

Three decades later, in 1979, those same lawyers helped build something new. The Atlanta Volunteer Lawyers Foundation was created through the joint efforts of the Atlanta Legal Aid Society, the Atlanta Bar Association, the Atlanta Council of Younger Lawyers, and the Gate City Bar Association with a shared belief that no one who is standing up for their legal rights should have to do it alone.

The Same Work, Still

Today, AVLF serves over 5,000 Atlantans every year through its staff and more than 500 volunteer legal professionals. Its clients are survivors of intimate partner abuse, tenants facing illegal evictions, children caught in high-conflict custody cases. They are people who have rights on paper and no way to enforce them.

A person in a dangerous home who cannot afford an attorney or know their rights to file a protective order. A tenant living in conditions a landlord promised a court to fix and never did. These are not abstract legal problems. They are the direct descendants of the same fundamental injustice Juneteenth marks: the difference between freedom as a declaration and freedom as a lived reality.

Juneteenth is a celebration, but it is also a reminder that the work of making freedom real does not end with a declaration, or a law, or even a holiday. It ends when everyone who needs someone to stand with them actually has one.

To learn more or support the work, visit avlf.org.

Sources:
HISTORY: What is Juneteenth?
NBC News: What to know about Juneteenth, the emancipation holiday.
Emory University School of Law: Gate City Bar Association: A Legacy of Community
Atlanta Bar Association: Atlanta Volunteer Lawyers Foundation

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At Atlanta Volunteer Lawyers Foundation (AVLF), we know that access to safe housing and personal safety are fundamental to building stable communities. While anyone can experience housing insecurity or abuse, LGBTQ+ individuals often face unique challenges that increase their vulnerability and create additional obstacles to finding help.

Housing Instability and LGBTQ+ Communities

Everyone deserves a safe and stable place to call home. Yet LGBTQ+ individuals, particularly transgender people and LGBTQ+ youth, are more likely to experience housing instability because of family rejection, discrimination, and economic inequities.

When housing becomes unstable, legal issues often follow. LGBTQ+ tenants may face eviction after losing income, disputes with landlords over unsafe living conditions, or discrimination while trying to secure or maintain housing. For those already experiencing barriers to employment or family support, an eviction or landlord tenant dispute can quickly lead to homelessness or long term housing insecurity.

Through AVLF’s Safe and Stable Homes, attorneys and advocates help eligible Atlantans facing eviction and landlord tenant disputes understand their rights and navigate the legal system. Programs such as Saturday Lawyer, Standing With Our Neighbors, the Housing Court Assistance Center (HCAC), Eviction Defense, and Medical Legal Partnership Plus (MLP+) connect tenants with legal advice, representation, and community resources that can help prevent displacement and keep families safely housed.

Understanding tenant rights and accessing legal assistance can make a meaningful difference. Legal advocacy can help renters navigate eviction proceedings, address landlord tenant disputes, and protect their right to safe and stable housing.

Beyond legal services, AVLF’s Community Support and Prevention (CSP) program provides flexible, client centered support that helps prevent housing loss before it occurs. CSP can assist with emergency needs, resource navigation, and stabilization support during moments of crisis. For LGBTQ+ individuals who may be disproportionately impacted by family rejection, discrimination, or economic instability, CSP can be a critical bridge to maintaining housing while legal issues are addressed and long term stability is pursued.

Together, these programs reflect AVLF’s holistic approach to housing justice, combining legal advocacy with practical support to help individuals and families remain safely housed and connected to resources that promote long term stability.

If you are facing an eviction or landlord tenant dispute, legal assistance may be available. Click below to learn more about housing resources and eligibility for services.

Intimate Partner Abuse in LGBTQ+ Relationships

Intimate partner abuse affects people of every gender identity and sexual orientation. However, LGBTQ+ survivors often face unique barriers when seeking safety and justice.

Some survivors fear being “outed” by an abusive partner, while others worry they will not be believed because of stereotypes about LGBTQ+ relationships. Transgender survivors may encounter discrimination when seeking shelter or services, and many survivors hesitate to report abuse because of fear of bias or previous negative experiences with institutions.

Abuse can take many forms, including physical violence, emotional manipulation, financial control, stalking, threats related to immigration status or gender identity, and digital harassment. Like all survivors, LGBTQ+ individuals deserve access to legal protections and supportive services without judgment.

Legal assistance can help survivors pursue protective orders, address housing concerns, resolve family law matters, and rebuild stability after abuse.

Through AVLF’s Safe Families Office and Standing With Survivors program, survivors of intimate partner abuse can access legal advocacy and support that helps them pursue safety, stability, and justice.

If you are facing an eviction or landlord tenant dispute, legal assistance may be available. Click below to learn more about housing resources and eligibility for services.

Building Safer Communities Through Justice

Pride is about visibility, dignity, and belonging. Ensuring that LGBTQ+ individuals have access to safe housing and protection from abuse is part of creating communities where everyone can thrive.

At AVLF, we believe that access to justice helps strengthen neighborhoods and change lives. By supporting legal advocacy and community partnerships, we can help remove barriers that leave vulnerable individuals without safe housing or legal protection.

This Pride Month, we celebrate the diversity of our communities while reaffirming our commitment to ensuring that everyone, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity, has the opportunity to live safely, securely, and with dignity.

Learn how you can support AVLF and the work we do, here.

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The 2026 AVLF Summer Social was a great one!

But more than just a great time, the night raised critical support for AVLF’s mission to help create safe and stable homes and families across Atlanta. Every ticket, every toast, every conversation helped move that mission forward.

We’re so grateful to everyone who made the night possible and we can’t wait to do it again.

Every volunteer hour and every dollar given helps AVLF deliver free, high-quality legal services to Atlantans facing housing instability and intimate partner violence.
Check out our Volunteering Opportunities to join the effort, or hit the Donate button to make an immediate impact.

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When Home Is Not Safe: Housing Instability and Mental Health 
 
There is a reason people describe receiving an eviction notice as “the floor dropping out.” For most of us, home is the one place where we are supposed to feel secure. When that security is threatened, whether through an eviction, a landlord who refuses to make essential repairs, or an unsafe living environment, the mental health consequences are immediate and serious. 
 
Research consistently links housing instability to elevated rates of anxiety, depression, and trauma. For low-income renters, this stress is compounded by the knowledge that they often have no financial cushion, limited legal knowledge, and very little time to respond. A court date can arrive within weeks of an eviction filing. The power imbalance can feel overwhelming. 
 
At AVLF, our Safe and Stable Homes Project exists because we know that legal representation levels that playing field. Through our Eviction Defense Program, Saturday Lawyer Program, Housing Court Assistance Center, and Standing With Our Neighbors (SWON) Program, we work to give tenants the tools, knowledge, and representation they need to fight back. And when a person can walk into a courtroom with an advocate beside them, something shifts. Not just legally, but emotionally. The isolation lifts. The fear becomes more manageable. And that matters. 
 
Stable housing is the foundation of mental wellness. You cannot heal when you do not know where you will sleep next month. Getting someone into a safe, stable home is not just a legal win. It is a mental health intervention. 
 
Breaking Free: Intimate Partner Violence and the Emotional Road to Safety 
 
Survivors of intimate partner violence know a particular kind of fear. It is not just the fear of physical harm. It is the fear of not being believed. The fear of what leaving might cost. The fear of facing a legal system alone. And the deep, complicated grief of loving someone who has hurt you. 
 
The mental health impact of intimate partner violence is profound and long-lasting. Survivors frequently experience PTSD, depression, anxiety, and trauma responses that can last for years after leaving an abusive relationship. The abuse itself is designed to erode self-worth and create dependency, which is why leaving is rarely as simple as walking out the door. 
 
AVLF’s Safe Families Office understands this. We do not just process cases. We walk alongside survivors. We help with Temporary Protective Orders, safety planning, connections to counseling and housing services, and advocacy with police and courts. Our Standing with Survivors mobile unit meets people where they are, literally, traveling into communities to provide on-site support for survivors who may not be able to come to us. 
 
When a survivor has a knowledgeable, compassionate advocate in their corner, the path forward becomes clearer. They do not have to navigate the legal system alone. They do not have to explain their story over and over to people who do not understand the dynamics of abuse. They can focus some of their energy on healing, rather than using all of it just to survive the system. 
 
Legal support for survivors is mental health support. The two are inseparable. 
 
For the Advocates: You Cannot Pour from an Empty Cup 
 
Every day, AVLF’s staff, volunteers, and partner advocates show up for people in crisis. Housing advocates sit with tenants who are barely holding it together. IPV advocates hold space for survivors on the worst days of their lives. Legal advocates take on cases that carry enormous emotional weight, fight hard for their clients, and then go home and do it all again the next day. 
 
This work is meaningful. It is also heavy. 
 
Compassion fatigue is real. Secondary traumatic stress, the emotional strain that comes from being regularly exposed to others’ trauma, affects advocates across every field. Burnout does not mean you care too little. Often, it means you have cared a great deal for a very long time without enough support. 
 
Mental Health Awareness Month is a reminder that the people who fight for others need care too. At AVLF, we believe that investing in the well-being of our advocates is inseparable from our mission. When our team is supported, they can show up more fully for the people who need them. When advocates have access to supervision, peer support, and organizational cultures that take their mental health seriously, the quality of care for clients improves. 
 
To every advocate reading this: thank you for what you carry. Your work changes lives. And your well-being matters just as much as the clients you serve. 
 
Justice Is a Mental Health Issue 
 
At AVLF, we believe that equal justice means showing up for the whole person. It means understanding that a tenant facing eviction is also a parent managing panic attacks. That a survivor seeking a protective order is also someone rebuilding their sense of self. That an advocate who gives everything to this work deserves a community that gives back to them. 
 
This Mental Health Awareness Month, we invite Atlanta to see the connection between legal justice and mental wellness, because for our clients, these things are never separate. 
 
If you or someone you know needs free legal support with housing or intimate partner violence, visit avlf.org. You do not have to face it alone. 
 

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“The investment from The Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation reflects a shared belief that no one standing up for their rights should have to do it alone,” said Michael Lucas, Executive Director of AVLF. “With this support, we will deepen our presence in the communities that need us most — meeting families in their neighborhoods, in their schools, and at the courthouse — to prevent the legal crises that lead to homelessness, family instability, and cycles of poverty.” 

The $1.4 million investment will support AVLF’s core housing stability work, including its Standing with Our Neighbors program. The Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation previously supported AVLF’s work, annually, in Atlanta’s Westside neighborhoods because of its expertise in providing proactive legal support to increase housing stability for residents. The Blank Foundation is excited to continue its support through this new multi-year grant.  

“AVLF’s community-based approach to legal services aligns with our foundation’s commitment to support the residents of Atlanta’s Westside neighborhoods, English Avenue and Vine City” said Danny Shoy, Jr., Managing Director of Atlanta’s Westside and Youth Development at the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation. “Stable housing and safe families are foundational to economic mobility, and AVLF has demonstrated that preventative legal advocacy can create lasting, systemic change.” 

AVLF is the largest provider of free legal services in Atlanta, serving more than 5,000 individuals and families each year through its staff and a network of over 500 volunteer attorneys, paralegals, and law students. The organization operates from offices at the Fulton County Courthouse, within Westside neighborhood schools, and through its mobile advocacy unit — ensuring immediate, accessible support for those navigating the legal system during moments of crisis. 

The grant comes at a critical time for Atlanta’s low-income residents. Housing instability remains a defining challenge across the city, with eviction filings disproportionately affecting communities of color. AVLF’s data-driven approach — which includes daily mapping of real-time eviction filing data for targeted outreach — has positioned the organization as a national model for how legal advocacy can prevent homelessness and stabilize families before crises escalate. 

“Eviction prevention is homelessness prevention,” Lucas added. “Every family we help stay in their home is a child who stays in their school, a worker who keeps their job, and a community that grows stronger. The Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation’s investment will help us reach more families and advance our mission to create safe and stable homes and families across Atlanta.”  

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At the Atlanta Volunteer Lawyers Foundation, our work has always been rooted in a simple belief: stable, affordable housing is the foundation of a just community. That’s why we were proud to see our Executive Director, Michael Lucas, bring that message to a broader audience as a featured panelist at the Westside Future Fund Summit.

The Westside Future Fund Summit brought together community leaders, housing advocates, policymakers, and residents to address the urgent challenges of displacement, affordability, and equitable development facing Atlanta’s historic Westside neighborhoods. Michael joined fellow panelists in candid conversation about the intersection of legal services, housing security, and community-driven solutions.

As AVLF’s Executive Director, Michael has been a consistent voice for low-income Atlantans facing eviction, predatory practices, and displacement. His participation in the Summit reflects AVLF’s deep commitment to not only serving clients in the courtroom, but showing up at the table wherever housing justice is being shaped.

Watch the full Summit recording below to hear Michael’s remarks alongside other community leaders working to build a more equitable Atlanta.

We are grateful to the Westside Future Fund for convening this important conversation and for including AVLF’s voice in it.

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Awardees recognized across five categories for outstanding contributions to housing affordability in the Atlanta region 

Atlanta’s affordable housing community came together on April 22^nd to celebrate six extraordinary champions whose work is making a real and lasting difference for families across the region. At its third annual Affordable Housing Awards luncheon at The Gathering Spot, HouseATL welcomed over 150 housing leaders to honor awardees across five categories — Housing Policy, Homeownership, Housing Retention, Rental Housing Preservation, and Exceptional Funding — selected through a membership-wide nominations and elections process that reflects the breadth and dedication of HouseATL’s growing coalition. 

“HouseATL created these awards to shine a light on the leaders driving real progress on housing affordability, and this year’s honorees are an exceptional group,” said Alan Ferguson, Co-Chair of the HouseATL Board and Chief Housing Officer of DeKalb County. 

AVLF was honored to be recognized as the 2026 Housing Retention Hero at the event. “We are deeply grateful to HouseATL for this incredible honor,” said Michael Lucas, Executive Director. “To be recognized alongside such a dedicated group of partners is truly meaningful, and we are proud to stand with others committed to ensuring that Atlantans can remain safely housed.” 

The 2026 HouseATL Affordable Housing Awardees: 

• Alison Johnson, 2026 Housing Policy Advocate, is a Peoplestown native who has built a powerful tenant advocacy platform at the Housing Justice League, connecting eviction defense, grassroots organizing, and national coalition-building to give renters real tools to protect their homes and communities. 

• Mariel Risner Sivley, 2026 Housing Policy Advocate, has expanded critical housing programs at St. Vincent de Paul Georgia, led the HousingFirst Georgia coalition, and successfully mobilized stakeholders against harmful legislation — proving that evidence-based, coalition-driven advocacy wins. 

• Atlanta Habitat for Humanity, 2026 Homeownership Champion, is reimagining affordable homeownership at scale through innovative joint venture developments like Browns Mill Village and the forthcoming Langston Park, set to serve as a showcase for the Carter Work Project 2026. 

• Atlanta Volunteer Lawyers Foundation, 2026 Housing Retention Hero, keeps thousands of Atlanta households stably housed each year by delivering free, high-quality legal representation — from Fulton County courtrooms to neighborhood schools — ensuring tenants have someone in their corner before a housing crisis becomes irreversible. 

• Columbia Residential, 2026 Rental Housing Preservation Leader, has preserved hundreds of affordable homes for Atlanta’s most vulnerable residents through the rehabilitation of properties including Legacy at East Lake and Columbia Senior at MLK Village, combining tax credits, affordability covenants, and permanent supportive housing to keep communities intact. 

• Dr. Christie Cade, 2026 Exceptional Funder, brings more than three decades of housing finance and community development experience to her role as Vice President and Southeast Market Leader at Enterprise Community Partners — and as co-chair of HouseATL’s Funders’ Collective, she has moved funders from the sidelines into the kind of coordinated, equity-centered investment that changes communities for generations. 

Together, these six champions embody the innovation, collaboration, and commitment that define Atlanta’s affordable housing movement at its best. 

“When we celebrate the leaders moving the needle on housing affordability, we strengthen the entire movement,” said Natallie Keiser, Executive Director of HouseATL. “Atlanta is fortunate to have advocates, innovators, and funders like these six champions, and we are proud to honor them.” 

HouseATL advances equitable housing outcomes for individuals and families in the metro Atlanta region by leading cross-sector collaboration and advocating for affordable housing policies and solutions. HouseATL is a cross-sector membership coalition of civic leaders committed to building the public will for a comprehensive and coordinated housing affordability action plan for Atlanta. Founded in 2018 through the combined efforts of the Urban Land Institute of Atlanta, The Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation, Central Atlanta Progress, the Center for Civic Innovation, and the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce, HouseATL now brings together more than 450 members from over 250 organizations. The coalition works to address the region’s housing challenges, develop policy recommendations, and secure funding for affordable housing—envisioning a thriving and diverse region, where people at all income levels have housing choices and can live with dignity, for generations to come. 

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Together We Rise brings together the Coalition’s member programs, partners, allies, and community members to celebrate advocates who have made a tremendous impact in the movement to end domestic violence in Georgia. The Impact Award recognizes an individual or firm that has significantly changed the lives of survivors, and being named this year’s recipient is a reflection of the heart and dedication our Safe Families team brings to this work every day.

We are deeply grateful to GCADV for this recognition, and to every survivor who has trusted our team to stand with them.

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Every year, we have the opportunity to pause and take stock of what we have accomplished together. Today, we are proud to release the AVLF 2025 Annual Report.

This report tells the story of the people we served, the cases we fought, and the outcomes that changed lives across metro Atlanta. It reflects the work of our attorneys, advocates, volunteers, and staff, and the generosity of the donors and partners who make it all possible.

None of this happens without you. Thank you for being part of AVLF’s mission.

Read the full 2025 Annual Report here.

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