Law Centres, Citizenship, and Participation

It's difficult to redirect things once we'd started up as a casework agency. It's difficult to keep casework under control. Cases can only be related to one another; if you justify taking on one case, it's difficult to avoid taking on similar cases. There is still not sufficient priority given to educational and community work. This is so because of the demands of individual] casework … It's difficult to change approach from casework to educational and community work. (Lawyer at the Urban Community Law Centre)
From the beginning we have attempted to do work with people rather than for them. This has meant that wherever possible we have brought people with similar problems together so that they learn how to cope with different establishment bodies … more important, they realize they can exercise control over their own lives. Whether we help an individual deal with his or her own personal problem, or help a group of people get to grips with whatever is oppressing them, our main aim is to inculcate a practical philosophy of self-reliance. (Statement of aims of the Northern Neighbourhood Law Centre¹)