HEARTS OF THE CITY / Exploring attitudes and issues behind the news : Legal Aid for Those Facing the Trials of Life

One man wants to see his daughter. Paris Payton wants Greyhound to reimburse him for his lost luggage. And Thomas H. wants advice on how to deal with a collection agency that’s trying to track him down.

But these three residents of the Bell Homeless Shelter can’t afford lawyers to help resolve their problems. So the lawyers come to them.

Once a month for the past five years, about 15 volunteers from the Barristers Homeless Shelter Project disperse to the cavernous Salvation Army shelter in Bell and four other facilities in the Los Angeles area, offering free legal help. The project is one of several pro bono services offered by the Barristers, the young lawyers section of the Los Angeles County Bar Assn.

“You meet a lot of really interesting people with genuine needs,” said lawyer Elizabeth Morrow. “They are really diligent in pursuing some remedy for their legal problem.”

Morrow tells of helping one client clear a warrant for public drunkenness. She explained how the courts work and assisted with the paperwork. The man sobered up and enrolled in one of the shelter’s education programs. “Eventually, he graduated, left and is now working,” Morrow said.

On a recent day, Paris Payton was telling Morrow about his ill-fated bus trip in August to Shreveport, La. Somewhere amid the changes of buses, his duffel bag and its contents vanished. Because Payton had handed the bag to the driver instead of checking it in, Greyhound wouldn’t reimburse him for the loss. Instead, the company offered a $100 travel voucher.

“Mainly, I just felt cheated,” Payton said, presenting the barristers with a small stack of papers--letters, luggage claim forms--to document his travails.

After some discussion, Morrow agreed to write Greyhound a letter on Barristers stationery stating that the voucher was “inadequate” and that if the bus line did not respond favorably within four weeks, Payton would consider “appropriate legal action.” Next month, Morrow will return to follow up.

Most of the time, the legal tangles can be unsnagged with an explanation of a form or a point in the right direction.

Other times, a letter or a phone call suffices. “This is more of a helping-people-help-themselves program,” Morrow said. Occasionally, one of the volunteer lawyers accompanies a shelter resident to court.

Offshoots of the Barristers project are popping up throughout the county. Six months ago Morrow and her husband, Brian McAllister, adopted a Long Beach

homeless shelter. After Loyola Law School instituted a requirement of 40 hours of pro bono service, fourth-year night student David Ackerly set up a once-a-month visit to West Los Angeles Veterans Hospital in Brentwood. Students from USC and Whittier Law School have joined in.

“It’s a nice way to feel worthwhile a few hours every month,” said Rondi Walsh, who started working with the project four years ago and is now its co-chairwoman. “I went once and I was hooked. I’ve rarely missed a meeting since then.”

On this evening, Walsh was listening to the credit problems of Thomas H. (Walsh asked that his last name not be used.) A year out of the Marines, Thomas had defaulted on student and car loans, owing $5,700. A collection agency has been trying to track him down through parents and friends.

“Should I throw out the white flag or should I keep on hiding?” Thomas asked.

“You want to do what you can to clear things up,” Walsh replied. Her advice: Order a free report on his credit history and contact a credit counselor.

Just having someone listen seemed to make the trouble less forbidding. “It would have been too overwhelming for me and ended up going in circles,” Thomas said. “Talking with someone in person is probably the best thing,” he told Walsh, “and I’m glad you came down here.”