Expanding Access: Kicking Off a New Legal Partnership Focused on Clearing Outstanding Warrants

Make-A-Day is excited to share that we are kicking off an expanded phase of our Move the Box initiative through a new partnership with Franklin County. This investment, through the county’s Targeted Community Alternatives to Prison initiative, allows us to deepen and scale the legal navigation work we began in October 2025.

Move the Box was created after we saw a clear pattern at our Pop-Up Care Villages: at least a third of the guests we were serving were navigating legal barriers that directly impacted housing, employment, and stability. Warrants. Old cases. Records that made applications stop before they started.

When we launched the first Move the Box pilot at the Hilltop Library, the response confirmed what we already suspected. The need was significant. The demand was immediate.

This new partnership strengthens that work. It supports expanded outreach, case management follow-up, readiness assessments, and practical barrier removal like bus passes and filing fees so that legal progress does not stall halfway through the process.

As part of this expansion, Make-A-Day is now a partner in Franklin County’s Tap In Center. The Tap In Center is the county’s mobile legal clinic focused on helping residents address low-level, nonviolent misdemeanor warrants and missed court dates. Their team works to recall warrants, reschedule cases, and reduce the risk of arrest for issues like theft, trespass, certain drug offenses, or driving-related charges. This matters deeply for the people we serve, especially those who have experienced homelessness, because low-level legal issues rarely stay low-level when you are unhoused. A misdemeanor warrant is not just a court matter. It can mean avoiding support where IDs are checked, skipping jobs that require background screens, missing medical appointments out of fear, or being arrested during routine contact and pulled back into jail for something that could have been resolved.

Our role was to engage residents through our existing outreach network, prepare participants ahead of time, and ensure smooth handoffs into legal services. We also brought the food truck so participants could share a meal while taking steps to clear their record, and we followed up with those who needed continued support afterward. In the weeks leading up to Tuesday’s event, our team reached out directly to guests who had previously connected with Make-A-Day through meals, housing support, ID recovery, or other services.

The Tap In Center’s legal team served 30+ guests over the course of the afternoon, including 13+ walk-ins - more than double their usual caseload. Many were connected with attorneys within minutes of screening. Several were able to resolve issues on the spot without needing additional appointments.

One guest we have been working with since October moved forward on long-delayed ID and legal navigation support. Another guest, meeting with Vanessa for the first time, completed her expungement application that day.

This work reflects a simple belief: legal access should be embedded in the same places where trust already exists. When legal navigation is integrated into familiar outreach spaces, follow-through increases and barriers shrink.

Move the Box began as a response to what our guests were telling us. This next phase ensures we can meet that need more consistently and more fully.

We’ll be back out with the Tap In Center March 17th, we’d love to see you there!