photo by: Sylas May

There’s a new resource at the Judicial and Law Enforcement Center, and its goal is to help make going to court a little less daunting.

That resource is the Douglas County District Court’s new Legal Self-Help Office, located just past the court security screening area upon entering the building at 111 E. 11th St. The office opened at the beginning of May and exists to help self-represented litigants — in other words, folks who advocate on their own behalf before a court, rather than being represented by an attorney — find and fill out necessary forms and learn more information about court processes and other available resources.

The office is directed by Brandy Nichols-Brajkovic, who joined the District Court in January after a number of years working as a municipal court judge in Kansas City, Kansas. Nichols-Brajkovic spoke with the Journal-World about the office Thursday afternoon. Though the office is just over a week old, she said its objectives are already clear.

“The vision of the Self-Help (Office) right now is if you have a legal issue in Douglas County, in a lot of areas that means you’re likely to have multiple legal issues,” Nichols-Brajkovic said. “We want to really help ‘unwrap that onion,’ so to speak, and really get to the core.”

Maybe a client first came in for help navigating a landlord-tenant issue, for example, but that conflict turns out to have stemmed from losing a job as a driver, which in turn was a result of their license being suspended. Those myriad issues might come with even further complications to tackle, like wage garnishment.

The Douglas County District Court’s new Legal Self-Help Office opened at the beginning of May. The office is located in the Judicial and Law Enforcement Center, 111 E. Eleventh St., just around the corner from the court security screening area upon entering the building.

Nichols-Brajkovic said some of the help the office provides may be as simple as assisting with technical forms related to some of the issues on that list, but it’s just as likely that there might be a need to get clients connected with an attorney who’s capable of providing limited legal advice. But either way, the office won’t turn someone away if they come seeking assistance.

“I want everybody to be able to come in here,” Nichols-Brajkovic said. “Now, if I can’t serve you, then I want you to have a good understanding of where your next-best options are. I kind of consider it like a prescription pad.”

The people asking for that help could be everyone from folks with master’s degrees who just can’t afford an attorney — and who may just need to be pointed to the right form to fill out — to individuals who may need a bit more guidance because they’re in “crisis mode” or because English is not their first language.

The office is meant to support the entire spectrum of possible clients and to be respectful of their situations, Nichols-Brajkovic said. That’s one thing she said she really wants to get right from the start.

“The one thing I do really want to build in the beginning — because we only get one shot to build it — is representation right in the very beginning,” Nichols-Brajkovic said.

That means bringing on volunteers at the office who “look like the people that need us,” Nichols-Brajkovic said, or who have experienced the same kinds of things those clients are currently navigating. By extension, she said the hope is that might make folks feel more comfortable with seeking help — especially if they’re coming to a welcoming, calming space to get it.

The office is already working with volunteers with the University of Kansas’ law school, but Nichols-Brajkovic said she’s still looking for more people who might be interested in lending a hand. That could be anyone from attorneys to help with giving limited legal advice to everyday volunteers who just help with filling out forms.

And eventually, the aim is to get some other permanent fixtures involved as the office grows. That could include folks like a social worker, a community health worker or an eviction diversion coordinator. Nichols-Brajkovic said she’s also focused on making sure to extend outreach to the county’s public libraries so folks in Eudora and Baldwin City have easier access to the office’s resources, especially outside of the office’s current hours.

But that’ll all need to happen at a sustainable pace, she said. The more people the office helps, the better chance there is for trickle-down effects to occur — like helping folks feel more empowered or helping the District Court run a little more smoothly as a whole.

“This is (version) 1.0, but the overarching goal is this is a safe space to come in and ask questions about the legal system and know that you’re going to get answers,” Nichols-Brajkovic said. “This is just, in general, a safe space.”

Currently, the Legal Self-Help Office is open from 1 to 4 p.m. on Wednesdays and from 9 a.m. to noon the other days of the week, and closed on weekends. Folks who need help or are interested in volunteering with the office can contact Nichols-Brajkovic at 785-838-2483 or selfhelp@douglascountyks.org.

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A resolution scheduled for a vote Tuesday would move Douglas County much closer to building two new mental health treatment facilities, for an estimated $60 million, in downtown Omaha.

The proposal on the County Board agenda calls for erecting two new structures near the Douglas County Jail. One new building, to be constructed at 1601 Jackson St., would become the new home of the Douglas County Community Mental Health Center, which is currently housed inside the county’s long-term care center at 4102 Woolworth Ave. The county also would build a mental health unit that would be connected to the jail. The proposal also calls for a parking garage.

The county would use $58 million in federal pandemic recovery and relief funds to pay for the project. That consists of $50 million from the county’s 2022 American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) allotment, and $8 million in CARES Act funding, according to the resolution. The remaining cost would come from the county’s general fund.

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More County Board action would need to be taken before construction would begin. But if the board approves the resolution Tuesday, it would commit the county to pursuing the two-building project as its preferred option for addressing mental health facility needs that the board identified in 2022 as a major priority for the ARPA money.

The resolution would direct county staff “to take the necessary steps to initiate the mental health community improvement projects . . . ,” the agenda reads.

“This is the final vote to basically say this is what we’re moving forward with,” County Board Chair Mary Ann Borgeson said. “And then we’ll work the details of that project with those two facilities located on the same campus.”

The board meeting Tuesday is scheduled for 9 a.m. in the legislative chambers of the City-County Building, 1819 Farnam St.

The County Board has been discussing for months how to address two sets of needs: addressing the increasing numbers of people in jail with mental illnesses, and moving the Community Mental Health Center out of the county’s nursing home.

A consultant has suggested other options, including a joint facility near the jail that would house treatment for people in jail and the general public. The one on the agenda Tuesday is essentially a concept that the county’s consultant on the effort, Carlson West Povondra Architects, presented at a meeting of the board April 4.

There has been substantial debate on the topic, and that is likely to continue Tuesday. Board member Jim Cavanaugh has pressed the board to consider an alternative plan involving renovations of the Douglas County Health Center building, and in the jail. He said it would be less expensive.

Locating community mental health near the jail would stigmatize the treatment, Cavanaugh said. His proposal calls for using a consortium including the county, University of Nebraska Medical Center and the VA Medical Center.

Board member Roger Garcia, who declined to comment Monday on which way he’s leaning, said the vote is unlikely to be unanimous. Garcia, whose district includes the area in question, said the board had talked about five options during its multiple meetings on the topic.

“This is basically the resolution and the vote to give the staff direction on which way the board will actually go, at least for a majority vote, so that we don’t just do spinning wheels on five options, but we actually lock down one of these options,” Garcia said.

Our best Omaha staff photos & videos of April 2023

Riley McCauley visits the Genoa Indian Industrial School Museum in Genoa, Neb., with his class from Omaha Nation High School, in Macy, Neb., visit , on Tuesday. Most of the students have family members who attended the federal boarding school for Native children, which closed in 1934.

ANNA REED THE WORLD-HERALD

Students from Omaha Nation High School, in Macy, Neb., look at a model of the campus while visiting the Genoa Indian Industrial School Museum in Genoa, Neb., on Tuesday. Most of the students have family members who attended the federal boarding school for Native children, which closed in 1934.

ANNA REED THE WORLD-HERALD

Millard West’s Korey Cozad tags out Millard South’s Cam Kozeal at home to end the top half of the fifth inning during the Metro conference final on Wednesday.

CHRIS MACHIAN, THE WORLD-HERALD

Millard South’s Cam Kozeal fields a high throw as Millard West’s Ben Sterbens steals second base in the fourth inning during the Metro conference final on Wednesday.

CHRIS MACHIAN, THE WORLD-HERALD

The sun rises over Heartland of America Park, still under construction, on the RiverFront in downtown Omaha on Thursday.

ANNA REED, THE WORLD-HERALD

A truck and a bald eagle head away from a wildfire near N.P. Dodge Park on Thursday.

CHRIS MACHIAN, THE WORLD-HERALD

Flames can be seen at a wildfire near the marina at N.P. Dodge Park on Thursday.

CHRIS MACHIAN, THE WORLD-HERALD

A National Guard Blackhawk helicopter drops water on a wildfire south of Lake Waconda, near Union, Nebraska on Monday. The wildfire, which started Saturday in Iowa, jumped the Missouri River and started Nebraska on fire.

CHRIS MACHIAN, THE WORLD-HERALD

Cullen Ritz, 7, watches a National Guard helicopter scoops up water from Lake Waconda to fight a wildfire near Union, Nebraska on Monday. The wildfire, which started Saturday in Iowa, jumped the Missouri River and started Nebraska on fire.

CHRIS MACHIAN THE WORLD-HERALD

Ashland firefighter Adam Peterson throws a smoldering chunk of wood onto a pile while performing “mop-up duty” just south of Lake Waconda on Monday. The wildfire, which started Saturday in Iowa, jumped the Missouri River and started Nebraska on fire.

CHRIS MACHIAN, THE WORLD-HERALD

Nebraska Head Coach Matt Rhule answers a question for the media on Tuesday.

CHRIS MACHIAN THE WORLD-HERALD

Nebraska’s Joshua Fleeks talks to the media after practice on Tuesday.

CHRIS MACHIAN THE WORLD-HERALD

A cyclist crosses north across Dodge Street on the Dodge Street pedestrian bridge early on Friday.

CHRIS MACHIAN THE WORLD-HERALD

The Great Hall of the Durham Museum is full of scaffolding as workers work to restore the ceiling on Thursday.

CHRIS MACHIAN THE WORLD-HERALD

The Great Hall of the Durham Museum is full of scaffolding as workers work to restore the ceiling on Thursday.

CHRIS MACHIAN THE WORLD-HERALD

One of the sculptures in the Durham Museum is covered with plastic during renovations on Thursday. Many of them had already been moved to accommodate work in the Great Hall.

CHRIS MACHIAN THE WORLD-HERALD

Sunlight filters through storm clouds onto a wind turbine south of Stuart, Iowa, as severe weather rolls through the midwest on Tuesday, April 04, 2023.

CHRIS MACHIAN, THE WORLD-HERALD

Isaiah Garcia-Castaneda (82) catches the ball in a Nebraska football spring practice in Lincoln on Tuesday.

ANNA REED, THE WORLD-HERALD

Cam Do–a-Mu–oz, a freshman, and hundreds of other students walk out of school on Transgender Day of Visibility outside Omaha Central High School on Friday. Students are protesting LB574 and LB575 in the Nebraska Legislature, which would ban certain gender-affirming care for youth and would prevent trans youth from competing in girls sports, respectively. “Equality before the law” is the Nebraska state motto.

ANNA REED, THE WORLD-HERALD

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