The Road
“If we park it, they will come.”
Californians visiting the Ventura County fair crowded around the massive white Winnebago, abuzz with talk about a vehicle that appeared outfitted for some sort of sci-fi camping trip.
Well, not quite. The fairgoers were actually getting an up-close view of the Ventura County Superior Court’s inventive foray into the world of pro se legal representation: a mobile self-help unit that hits the road four days a week to help low-income clients where they live.
The Ventura County Superior Court acquired the 35-foot, custom-built motor home in November 1999 to reach out to underserved clients in geographically isolated communities within its jurisdiction. Staffed by a volunteer attorney, a driver, and law student interns, the self-help Winnebago visits libraries, community centers, schools, churches, and barrios throughout Ventura County.
Court officials purchased the mobile home for $108,000, much of which was supplied by a private foundation donor. The traveling office contains two computer workstations wired to the World Wide Web, several video screens, an ample collection of self-help videos, and an assortment of legal how-to books, pamphlets, and brochures.
But do clients actually hop aboard to get help? Last year, the mobile unit provided legal assistance and self-help information to 1,208 residents.
Shortly after the Winnebago’s debut, however, Ventura County leaders realized they must do more than park it for clients to come. The inability of laborers and farm-workers to leave their jobs during the day caused court officials to re-think the mobile unit’s daytime schedule. The center now makes evening visits and frequent appearances at special events. It shows up regularly at Sunday Mass at churches that serve low-income, Spanish-speaking communities.
The Winnebago’s route takes it through the farming communities of South Oxnard and Santa Paula and the geographically isolated areas pocket of poverty in Ojai and Thousand Oaks. It also travels weekly to Ventura Avenue, where it serves a primarily homeless population, and to Leisure Village, a senior community in Camarillo.
The mobile center staff spends roughly three hours at each location, assisting people with everything from traffic infractions to landlord-tenant issues and family law matters. Advocates also distribute preventative law information to educate visitors on how to avoid legal trouble before it befalls them.
The traveling self-help office has helped Ventura County “bring about more public awareness that the courts are there for the people,” says Tina Rasnow, coordinator of the Court’s Self-Help Legal Access Center “It makes a very physical statement about increasing access to justice.”