ALLENTOWN, Pa. — Lehigh County public defense attorneys will be serving up free food and giving out clothes and legal services Saturday in a downtown Allentown parking garage.
The Lehigh County Office of the Public Defender is set to hold its fifth Community Outreach Day from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday in the garage at 7th and Walnut streets.
- The Lehigh County Office of the Public Defender's "Community Outreach Day" is Saturday
- The event features more than a dozen organizations offering a wide range of services
- The public defender's office will also be handing out free food and clothing
The public defender’s office holds two outreach days each year to connect residents with services they need — including help with housing, mental health and substance abuse and recovery, Lehigh County Chief Public Defender Kimberly Makoul said.
More than a dozen other organizations will be at Saturday’s event, including Valley Youth House, the Lehigh Conference of Churches, Pinebrook Family Answers and St. Luke’s University Health Network.
City representatives also will be there.
“If you can address both the social issues on the front end and the collateral consequences on the back end, you have much better chances of success, and you have a much better chance of that individual not recidivating and not coming back into the system."Kimberly Makoul, Lehigh County's chief public defender
The event will also feature free hot dogs, pasta salad and cake, as well as free clothing, Makoul said. Anyone is welcome to attend the event, even those who don’t need legal services, she said.
“If you're just there because you just need some clothing, please come,” she said. “If you're there because you want food, please come.”
'Holistic defense model'
The wide range of organizations offering services at the Community Outreach Day event was driven by the “holistic defense model,” which says attorneys should work to address their clients' social issues as well as the “collateral consequences of being involved in the criminal justice system,” Makoul said.
“If you can address both the social issues on the front end and the collateral consequences on the back end, you have much better chances of success, and you have a much better chance of that individual not recidivating and not coming back into the system,” she said.
“It's a win-win for everybody. They get better jobs [and] it helps them stay on the right track, be productive members of society.”Lehigh County Chief Public Defender Kimberly Makoul
Several organizations also will be available to help people determine whether they are eligible for a pardon or to have their criminal records sealed or expunged.
There are many criteria for receiving a pardon, record-sealing or expungement, including the type of crime and how long it’s been since a conviction, she said.
A conviction for any crime — or “even an arrest” — often makes it harder for people to get a license, job, and housing, Makoul said.
Securing a pardon or sealing/expunging someone's criminal record can change their lives, she said.
“It's a win-win for everybody,” Makoul said. “They get better jobs [and] it helps them stay on the right track, be productive members of society.”
