Legal aid - a support for the disadvantaged

Around mid-2023, legal aid worker Do Thi Thao - currently working at Legal Aid Branch No. 6, Hanoi State Legal Aid Center, in charge of Phu Xuyen and Thuong Tin districts, received the case of defendant Nguyen Van Long, born in 1986, residing in Phu Xuyen district, now Dai Xuyen commune, Hanoi city, a near-poor household accused in the case of "Organizing illegal drug use". Defendant Nguyen Van Long was sentenced by the court to 2 years and 6 months in prison.

Legal assistants share legal knowledge with students in Hanoi .

During the process of defending the defendant, the legal aid officer learned about the family situation and learned that in 2013, defendant Nguyen Van Long married Ms. Vi Thi Phu and had a child together, Nguyen Thi Ngoc Van, born in 2014. However, after Van was about 2 years old, Ms. Phu left home and the family had no information.

Van lives with her father and grandparents, but their circumstances are very difficult. Her grandparents are now nearly 60 years old, especially her grandmother, Nguyen Thi Lich, who is severely disabled and currently receives monthly social assistance. Van is at risk of having to drop out of school because her grandparents are old and do not have stable jobs.

Faced with Van's pitiful situation, legal aid worker Do Thi Thao advised and explained the rights to free legal aid services to Van's grandmother. Afterwards, with the advice and support of the legal aid worker, Mrs. Lich filed a request for legal aid, requesting that Legal Aid Branch No. 6 assign a legal aid worker to protect Van's rights and represent her in the process of working with competent authorities to consider Van's eligibility for social assistance.

The Head of TGPL Branch No. 6 assigned a legal assistant to participate in the out-of-court representation. At the same time, after collecting sufficient information, on August 3, 2023, the legal assistant advised the Head of Branch No. 6 to send an official dispatch to the prison where Ms. Vi Thi Phu, Van's mother, is serving her sentence to request confirmation that prisoner Vi Thi Phu is serving her prison sentence. As a result, on August 10, 2023, the prison sent a reply confirming that prisoner Vi Thi Phu is serving a sentence of 7 years and 6 months.

After preparing the documents, the legal assistant worked with the Social War Invalids officers of Bach Ha commune, the People's Committee of Bach Ha commune, and the Department of War Invalids and Social Affairs of Phu Xuyen district at that time to propose that Van be entitled to social assistance according to the provisions of Decree No. 20/2021/ND-CP dated March 15, 2021 regulating social assistance policies for social protection beneficiaries.

In addition, according to the provisions of Resolution No. 17/2021/NQ-HDND dated December 8, 2021 of the Hanoi People's Council stipulating a number of specific policies to implement the city's sustainable poverty reduction target for the period 2022-2025, Van is eligible for a monthly allowance because she is a member of a near-poor household, and her grandmother is also receiving a monthly allowance. According to this regulation, Van may receive a subsidy of VND 2,000,000/month and her grandmother will still receive a caregiver allowance according to Decree 20/2021/ND-CP.

As a result, in October 2023, Nguyen Thi Ngoc Van received a subsidy of 2,000,000 VND/month and her grandmother received a childcare allowance of 660,000 VND/month. Although the amount is not too large, it has helped Van's family cover some of her living and studying expenses, creating conditions for her to continue going to school and have a less disadvantaged childhood without both parents by her side. The results of this TGPL activity also continue to show the special significance of the TGPL policy for the disadvantaged in society of our Party and State.

Source: https://cand.com.vn/doi-song/tro-giup-phap-ly-diem-tua-cho-nhung-nguoi-yeu-the-i786152/