ALABAMA APPLESEED CENTER FOR LAW AND JUSTICE INC

The Alabama Appleseed Center for Law & Justice, Inc. is a non-profit, non-partisan public interest advocacy organization formed in 1999. We are located in Montgomery. We are governed by a 21 member state-wide board of directors, all of whom are Alabama residents. We have a full time staff of four attorneys working on a broad range of public interest advocacy projects. There are 17 state Appleseed centers around the country affiliated with the Appleseed Foundation in Washington, D.C.

Alabama Appleseed’s mission is to achieve systemic change by working for justice and fairness for all Alabamians, particularly low income and other under-represented and vulnerable populations that have little, if any, voice in public policy. We work for constructive and lasting systemic change of policies and practices that result in governmental and social systems better serving all Alabama citizens. We are dedicated to creating a more just and equitable society in Alabama. One of our major strategies is to develop and organize networks and coalitions of other public interest advocacy organizations and the communities affected by the issues of each particular network or coalition. We leverage this service commitment and community presence with the skills and expertise of the legal and judicial communities, academia, the business community and volunteers to bring the powerful voices of these constituencies into dialogue and action on major public interest issues.

The following list sets forth five of our most active initiatives. From its inception Appleseed’s work has focused on projects that economically benefit low-wealth individuals and communities, including living wage advocacy, tenant rights, health insurance for the uninsured, legal representation for the indigent, economic hardships caused by payday lending, unresolved family heir property, immigration policy, and Alabama’s 1901 Constitution. For a more in depth view of Alabama Appleseed, please go to our website at www.alabamaappleseed.org

Constitutional Reform – This project is actively working with the new Revision Commission on five articles, and will lead the effort in 2012 to substantially improve the Education Article. We strategically engage the state-wide legal community to prepare substantive policy analyses on needed improvements to the 1901 Alabama Constitution and bring together in a working coalition the various Alabama non-profit groups working on constitutional reform for a more robust, targeted impact.

Immigration Policy – Appleseed has convened various groups with a unified voice of the new immigrant populations and non-immigrant communities in Alabama, ensuring the legal rights of immigrants at the state and local levels, and promoting social integration and civic participation of immigrants. We are one of the plaintiffs challenging the constitutionality of Alabama’s new immigration law, HB 56.

Health Insurance Coverage – A project that is developing and implementing strategies to provide health insurance coverage for the over 600,000 uninsured Alabamians and, with the enactment of the Federal Affordable Care Act, is involved as a consumer advocate in the development of the State health insurance exchange under the Affordable Care Act.

Payday Loan Reform – A project currently focused on developing and advocating for reform from a consumer perspective of Alabama law regulating payday loans, creating greater personal financial security awareness through education, and developing viable alternatives lending models to high cost payday and title pawn loans

Heir Property – Appleseed is determining the number of low-wealth families living on land without clear title (“heir property”), conducting state-wide public education sessions about how to protect from the loss of such land, and is advocating for appropriate law reforms.

Areas Served: Montgomery, Birmingham, Auburn-Opelika, Tuscaloosa, Huntsville, Mobile

Zip Codes Served: 36104, 35201, 36830, 36801, 35405, 35801, 36602

Keywords: legal, advocacy, heir property, immigration policy, constitutional reform, health care coverage, payday loan reform, Montgomery, Alabama, community.