Today, in the #AASuccessStories section, there is a story of law
students from Mariupol who, with the support of the EU UPSHIFT project
and UNICEF Ukraine, provide free legal aid to people who need it, but
cannot pay for it.
#AASuccessStories is a column about Ukrainians, who benefit from the
Association Agreement with the EU and enjoy opportunities for
cooperation with the European Union.
Inna Mykhaylenko, Roman Shamara and Violetta Dresvyannikova, three law
students at Mariupol State University, founded the “Studconsult” legal
aid clinic. Their goal is to provide legal assistance to the most
vulnerable groups — low-income families, single mothers, the elderly,
students and people with disabilities. They managed to implement this
project within the UPSHIFT program, with the support of UNICEF Ukraine
and the Kharkiv Professional Development Foundation thanks to the
financial support of the European Union.
Inna, Roman and Violetta say they dreamed of opening a law office
together, but they had no money and no support. For UAH 50,000 grant
from the UPSHIFT program, they were able to renovate an office, which
they rent at their university, buy furniture and appliances and start
working.
“No one wants to hire inexperienced students and trust them important
cases, - 20-year-old Violetta says. - We understood that we would have
to gain an experience ourselves”.
“Studconsult” Law Clinic has been operating for less than a year, but
during this time young people have already been able to help dozens of
their clients. In particular, they helped the orphan to receive social
benefits for 2.5 years’ period, the pensioner to finally file a lawsuit
to get a utility subsidy, the factory worker to get a permit, and the
deceived girl to protect her rights. All assistance is provided for
free. “Studconsult” works in the following areas: labor, civil, family,
housing, pension and social protection law, as well as administrative,
constitutional, land and environmental law. Before the COVID-19
pandemic started, consultations took place in the “Studconsult” office
at 129 Budivelnykiv av. (Building of the Faculty of History of Mariupol
State University). With the introduction of quarantine restrictions,
“Studconsult” provides online legal assistance. They give consultations
on Instagram
@_studconsult_,
Facebook
and e-mail
urclinikamst@gmail.com or
by filling out the application form on the website
www.studconsult.info.
Due to quarantine, volunteer lawyers had to postpone their plans to
work “in the field” — in particular in rural areas on the front line in
Eastern Ukraine. Instead, “Studconsult” is developing another important
area of assistance — legal education. Inna, Roman and Violetta conduct
free lectures for students in 9-11 grades and seminars for law students
to share information and gain practical skills in the implementation of
human rights.
In addition to online work, “Studconsult” started a series of
consultation on the local Mariupol TV channel. They talk about human
rights, share useful information that can help even in everyday
situations. For example, what rights does a buyer have in a store, what
to do if the goods are accidentally broken, how to pay for the stuff,
if the price on the tag and at the cashier's base is different, does
the security guard have the right to inspect your personal belongings
or do you have the right to film if the police stopped you and what to
do if your car jumped into a pit and was damaged? And much more
interesting and useful information.
The founders of “Studconsult” have big plans for the future. They want
to expand the law clinic, invite other law students, and later turn
their small startup into a real law company.
The publication is based on materials from the
website and the
Facebook page.