Hakim* was severely persecuted in his home country for being gay. The ridicule and harassment he experienced was so severe that he was forced to drop out of school. The threat escalated and a mob, urged on by local leadership, murdered his father and his partner. Hakim himself barely escaped with his life. Hakim ended up in Indiana and that is when he sought help from the Neighborhood Christian Legal Clinic.

“Our clients trusted the out-of-state return preparer and had no idea they were filing improperly,” according to Shawn Richter, Director of the Tax & Economic Justice Program at the Clinic. When the IRS caught wind of the scheme and opened an audit, the couple was overwhelmed at the idea of paying back a huge liability they could not afford. They also worried that it would destroy their credit and they would never be able to purchase a home. In their moment of greatest need the couple learned about the Neighborhood Christian Legal Clinic. 

Jasmine Smith couldn’t believe her eyes. She worked hard and needed her full paycheck just to get by. Now she was being presented with a claim to garnish her wages for a debt that she allegedly owed. Read on for the full story.

On a Saturday morning, Chloe M. went into her job, hoping to continue working her way up in the company. Instead she was told that a background check had come in which made her unqualified for promotion to management and, in fact, she was going to be terminated. Chloe’s pastor encouraged her and told her about the Clinic’s Expungement Help Desk.

Nearly one year ago, Erin Hall took the helm as the Clinic’s executive director, helping to expand our mission of justice for the most vulnerable in our communities. Today we interview Erin to learn about her past experience, what promoting justice and mercy means to her personally, and her vision for the future.