Fighting for the rights of our most oppressed
The "poor persons' solicitor" is about to celebrate a quarter of a century of battling for the oppressed - and for survival. David Walsh discovers a team of law workers for whom principle comes first.
DOWN a side street off The Wicker, past a dumped double mattress, next to a car repair garage, and opposite a sauna, is Sheffield Law Centre.
Leaving in the evening is downright 'scary' according to those who work there.
Inside, the 1930s former warehouse on Joiner Street features painted breeze block walls, single-glazed metal-framed windows, some frosted some cracked, and piles and piles of papers, boxes and files.
A bicycle stands in the prayer-cum-meeting room and all the furniture is mismatched.
There is even a box for donations at the door, although grateful clients are just as likely to leave clothing, pens and home-baked food.
The contrast with corporate law giant Irwin Mitchell's gleaming offices at Millsands just across the River Don could not be more stark.
But what the centre lacks in glamour it makes up for in commitment.
For the past 25 years a dedicated band of workers has been fighting for the rights of the oppressed by offering free, independent legal advice.
It fights for the people right at the bottom of the pile, with the least money, the smallest voice and at the biggest risk of being steam-rollered by the government, councils and companies, landlords and bosses.
Last year alone it saved 559 local people from losing their home and secured 367,998 in payments and compensation for people who had employment and housing problems.
But helping the poor - clients have to be "desperately poor" to qualify for legal aid these days - means profit is not in the Law Centre's vocabulary. Finances are always very tight and sometimes worse than that.
At least five times since it was given a starter grant by Sheffield Council in 1985 it has faced closure due to insufficient funds.
Twice benefactors have stepped in with donations to keep it going, and on other occasions the management committee has "pulled a rabbit out of a hat", according to immigration case worker Keith Lannaman who has been with the centre since it started.
"People who work at the Law Centre are usually committed to the work," he said. "Over the past 25 years we have come close on four or five occasions, but we have survived.
"The struggle to survive depends on ourselves and the effort we are prepared to put in from time to time."Nazma Latif, housing case worker, said: "Workers pull together. Some of us proposed we took a salary cut - that's what it means to work here."
Sheffield Law Centre was the brainchild of people who saw the need for free legal advice in the city including solicitor Kevin Robinson, Sheffield Hallam lecturer Phil Harris, and trade unionist Mick Jordan.
It started with four people in a one-room office at Crookesmoor Community Centre. Some of their first clients were striking miners.
In April 1985 it moved to a two-room office on St Paul's Parade, overlooking the Peace Gardens. In 1987 it moved to bigger offices on Leopold Street, before moving to Joiner Street in 1991. It was a contrast to the city centre.
Nazma said: "At night around here it is scary. But some say it's right that we are down here among the real people."
June 2007 brought a different threat when the Don burst its banks and the biggest flood of a generation trapped workers and clients in the first floor offices overnight.
But on it went, its policy of not charging, not turning anyone away and fighting for the impoverished, ensures the 18 paid workers and 25 volunteers themselves are almost always "overwhelmed" and "swamped".
Today funding comes from the Legal Services Commission, via legal aid, the Equality and Human Rights Commission and Sheffield Council.
As a result it is frequently battling the very organisations which fund it.
Charities expert Bev Cross, who worked at the centre from when it opened until 1998, said: "We have bitten the hand that feeds us a few times. In fact we're snapping at their fingers daily."
But equalities rights worker Douglas Johnson, who started as a volunteer in 1997, said councillors recognise the value of their work.
He added: "They recognise our contribution to combating poverty, oppression and discrimination. The action of many council departments, housing associations, big businesses and government can cause a lot of problems, our job is to rebalance that."
Staff who put their principles before profit
SUCCESS for the centre usually comes after a David and Goliath battle.
Case workers go head-to-head with organisations with huge resources but, when it comes, victory is sweet.
Last year it helped wheelchair user David Allen, aged 18, of Bents Green, to win a fight against the Royal Bank of Scotland for wheelchair access at its branch on Church Street in the city centre.
It also used the Disability Discrimination Act to save a Sheffield man with learning difficulties from losing his home for failing to pay council tax.
The year before it won 4,000 for a disabled Doncaster driver who was discriminated against by his insurance company when it refused to cover his adapted car.
And in 2008 it won 2,500 in damages for a visually impaired woman after the Department for Work and Pensions failed to send her letters in large type.
But it can also influence policy.
In 1988 solicitor Derek McConnell won compensation for hundreds of tenants, and a change in council policy, after their move into temporary accommodation during refurbishment works was mishandled.
Equalities worker Douglas Johnson said they were currently overwhelmed with employment work due to the recession.
He added: "People are unfairly sacked by bosses desperate to avoid paying redundancy.
"We get a lot of work which brings real benefits to people, but we don't go looking for headlines or test cases."
Today the centre has teams that focus on housing, equalities, immigration, and employment.
A 25th AGM and party was held in February 25 at Sorby House, Spital Hill with an invitation to all former staff, volunteers and supporters.
Factile
Sheffield Law Centre was incorporated on October 26 1984
It received a 5,000 starter grant from Sheffield Council in April 1985.
Last year it helped 3,996 people and represented 605 clients in court or tribunal.
It provided services in 19 languages last year.
It received 55,000 in income last year and secured a positive outcome in 79 per cent of cases.
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