We provide targeted legal help through our Partners in Place (PiP) model.
PiP is based on the understanding that legal issues often coincide with other life challenges. Housing, family violence, health and youth services are places people frequently turn to for support, often before seeking legal help.
By building strong outreach and referral relationships with these services, we create pathways that connect people to legal help as early as possible, before problems escalate.
How PiP works
We partner with 30+ community organisations and services in our catchment area to ensure those with the most need are connected to legal help. Our approach includes regular outreach at key service locations as well as warm referrals directly from workers.
We typically support clients with the following legal issues:
- Tenancy issues
- Fines
- Debt
- Family violence
- Family law
- Minor crime
- Victim support
- Discrimination
- Complaints
If you are working with one of our active partners and want to make a referral to Southside Justice, please use the online referral form.
Working together to end youth homelessness: Upton Rd Youth Services
Addressing legal problems such as fines, family violence, tenancy issues and criminal matters is critical in helping young people experiencing homelessness to regain stability.
Through our partnership with The Salvation Army’s Upton Road Youth Services in Windsor, legal support is integrated into the broader service available to young people. Our youth lawyer works alongside Upton Road youth workers and case managers, making it easier for young people and staff to identify and respond to legal issues before they escalate.
“Having this support onsite has led to referrals that may not otherwise have been referred onto legal support.”
Legal help in a safe space: Sacred Heart Women’s House
Women experiencing homelessness, financial hardship and social isolation often face legal issues that can be difficult to address alongside everything else that’s going on in their lives.
For more than a decade, Southside Justice has partnered with Sacred Heart Mission’s Women’s House in St Kilda, providing regular drop-in legal support in a place where women already feel safe and welcome. By working alongside Women’s House staff, we can respond early to legal problems and help women access the support they need without the barriers that often come with seeking help elsewhere.
“Our partnership with Southside justice has been integral to the work that we do at Women’s House: breaking down barriers to social inclusion and community participation.”
Uncovering legal issues before they become barriers: VincentCare Family Violence Refuge
For people escaping family violence, legal issues are often deeply intertwined with housing, safety, parenting and financial security. Accessing legal help can be difficult when immediate needs understandably take priority.
Through our partnership with a VincentCare family violence refuge, Southside Justice offers every resident a Legal Health Check. Delivered in the safety of the refuge environment, Legal Health Checks help identify legal issues that may otherwise go unaddressed, making it easier for residents to access the support they need as they rebuild safety and stability.