Rooted in Justice: 35 Years of PBRC

There was snow on the ground when an attorney from the Pro Bono Resource Center of Maryland visited Gladys at her Baltimore City home. CBS had already reported four cold-related deaths in the city that winter; the attorney was determined not to let Gladys become the fifth.

As she entered the home, she noticed a massive hole where the ceiling had been. This only exacerbated another of Gladys’ woes: she had no heat. While Gladys was grateful that no one was harmed during the ceiling’s collapse, her landlord simply cleaned up the debris—leaving a crater in her ceiling that exposed the underlying rafters.

The home was freezing—inhospitable, yet, despite her landlord’s awareness of Gladys’ dire housing situation, he was suing her for failure to pay rent. The attorney explained to Gladys that she could sue the landlord for the condition of the home, but Gladys was too afraid to even consider it. The attorney spent two months going back and forth with the landlord’s attorney to resolve the issue: insisting that the ceiling and heat be repaired and that Gladys be credited on the ledger.

Ultimately, the attorney was able to compel the landlord to make all the repairs and credit Gladys’ ledger $4,207.50 for the open ceiling and lack of heat. For the PBRC attorney, the image of Gladys smiling, warm and safe in her home, was all the compensation she needed.