Test Asylum Law6

MISSION - VISION - HISTORY

Louisiana Appleseed solves our state's toughest problems at their root cause by advocating for Access to Justice, Opportunity, and Education. We believe that our state will be stronger through fair and equitable access to the courts, the economy, and public schools. To accomplish this, we build bridges between vulnerable communities and our extensive network of pro bono professionals to develop meaningful and sustainable solutions that help justice take root.

Established in 1993 by members of the Harvard Law School Class of 1958, the Appleseed Network has grown to be a collaborative of nonprofits dedicated to help organize, establish, and guide a network of 19 public interest law centers across North America. Louisiana Appleseed was founded in 1997 and re-constituted in 2007 when New Orleans-based law firm, Adams and Reese, entered a partnership with national Appleseed to open a Louisiana center. Louisiana Appleseed engages 2 employees, 2 consultants, 1 lobbyist, several interns, and over 100 pro bono attorneys among the state's premier law firms. Our diverse Board of Directors includes judges, bankers, professors, and attorneys throughout Louisiana who work together to create opportunities to serve the most vulnerable members of our population, increasing fair and equitable access to our state's systems. Our network structure has served thousands of people through our many justice, opportunity, and education initiatives such as Appleseed's Heirs' Property Legacy Project unlocking over $16M in economic benefits to homeowners since 2007; Feed More for Less Project, allowing public schools to provide free breakfasts and lunches to children across the state; and Civil Legal Aid Supports Louisiana Project that has secured $1.5M in state appropriations since 2019, yielding a 913% social return on investment.

Our approach is unique: we engage volunteer attorneys and other professionals to partner with us to create policy-oriented research and advocacy. We work with government, legal services and other nonprofits to identify systemic problems, formulate solutions, and engage pro bono counsel to effect change. We provide a link from government and the business sectors to lawyers who want to use their skills and resources to help strengthen our state and its residents. Our innovative approach allows our organization to achieve its mission and create maximum impact in a cost-effective manner.

Appleseed employs an iceberg theory of analysis used iteratively to bridge gaps between lived experiences and policy-level solutions to achieve substantial success for low-income families across the state. Like an iceberg, Appleseed's theory of change recognizes there is a small percentage of any given social issue is immediately apparent, while a majority of patterns and structures that form the true foundation lie deep beneath the water's surface. Systemic change requires persistent digging into the iceberg's foundation. For example, Louisiana Appleseed has worked toward systemic change to protect generational wealth in land-rich/cash-poor communities since Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Many homeowners possessed their property over generations, but could not show a clear title. Thus, families were locked out of federal and private aid to rebuild post-Katrina. Appleseed successfully advocated for a legislative study on heirs' property. The study engaged federal, state, grassroots, and corporate interests to identify structures that inequitably perpetuated the status quo. The result was a legislative amendment in 2009. Appleseed repeated this process and continues to do so today, each time building on previous findings and current events. (See legislative instruments in 2011, 2012, 2017, and 2021.) Through the iceberg theory of change and persistent iterations of evaluation, Appleseed unlocked $16M for homeowners statewide, helping low-income families to maintain their homes.