GTCC paralegal professor and student lend legal expertise to support displaced residents in Western North Carolina
Published on: December 3, 2024
In late September, Western North Carolina was devastated by Hurricane Helene and the catastrophic rainfall that caused widespread flooding and wiped-out roads and homes.
Parts of the area remain crippled from the storm with residents still seeking federal support to start rebuilding.
With the overwhelming number of requests from residents seeking assistance in filling out FEMA applications, Pisgah Legal Services in Asheville sent out a cry for help and GTCC Assistant Professor of Paralegal Technology Kathy Ronnenberg, JD, answered the call.
“Pisgah Legal Services’ goal was to assist folks filling out their initial FEMA application … and then helping with the longer application for recovery and relief funds,” shared Ronnenberg.
The nonprofit serves 18 counties and seeks to pursue justice by providing legal assistance and advocacy to help low-income people in Western North Carolina meet their basic needs and improve their lives.
Ronnenberg also shared the opportunity with her students. One paralegal certificate student, Stefanie Greenhill, Ph.D., thought it would be a great opportunity to apply what she had learned in class.
“I think it’s definitely a great learning experience and I’m happy to take the opportunity to assist,” said Greenhill. “It has given me more confidence in the paralegal field, more confidence that I do have the skills to do this work. It’s been reassuring to find myself on the phone calls and knowing I worded things correctly.”
Pisgah Legal Services conducted a two-hour online training session for all volunteers and then sent follow-up resources. After the training was completed, the nonprofit sent a list of 10-15 messages to each volunteer with contact information.
“The volunteers now call everyone back on their individual lists and determine the problem, see what stage they’re in during the FEMA process, help them fill out the initial FEMA form, or get them to the right agency,” said Ronnenberg.
“In the training, they shared that some of the folks were reluctant to ask for help, they were too proud. ‘We have running water; our neighbor needs help. They don’t have water.’”
The primary focus of Ronnenberg’s introductory paralegal course at GTCC is that lawyers are in the business of helping problem solve, however that looks.
“Sometimes we do feel helpless when tragedy hits, and you don’t really know what you can do to help, but this was the perfect fit to use our expertise to make a difference to someone,” she shared.
Greenhill is a mom of two young children, a caretaker for her mother-in-law, and an online history professor at a local university. She has completed between 20-30 calls in the past few weeks.
“Another big thing we’ve talked about in classes was the unauthorized practice of law, meaning that only lawyers can give legal advice. On some of these Helene calls, people have explained their situation asking if they can sue. This has been a real-life application of things you read in a textbook.
“So much of this is really tragic and you want to come off sympathetic (to the people on the phone). But even if I know the answer to the legal question, I have to direct them to a lawyer that can actually provide the legal advice.”
Thanks to the state of North Carolina. allowing lawyers licensed in other states to temporarily assist with these FEMA applications and appeals, Ronnenberg can intensify the way she gives back. As an attorney licensed in Florida, she’s now able to also assist those in need with appeals as well.
“The need out there is still so great – so it feels good to be able to contribute something.”