Thanks SCLS!

Earlier this month I was invited to attend the South Carolina Legal Services (SCLS) Annual Conference in Myrtle Beach.  And it’s hard for me to express the feelings I had. Everyone was welcoming to me and I had a great time. Even better, I came away with a better understanding of what SCLS does and the dedication their staff has to their job. In fact, I dare say that many SCLS attorneys and support staff believe that their work is a calling. I was glad to be a part of SCLS for 3 days!

And I’m thankful for the work they do including:

1. To keep people in their homes;
2. To make sure people are able to access benefits;
3. To help people out of unsafe living conditions; and
4. To let people know that they are not alone in the civil legal system.

Below are some photos from the Conference: (I wish I had more to share, but most shots were under- or over-exposed)

Opening Dinner 11/10/09

George Cauthen, SCATJ Commissioner and SCLS Board Member

Getting to Know Staff Begins

Singing

Singing with guitar accompaniment

Poetry

Flute Solo

The Fashion Show Begins

Models

More Fashion

Like New York Fashion Week

Fierce

Making it work (a la Tim Gunn)

Let the Votes Begin

More Fashion Votes

Door Prize

Agenda

Consumer Law

More Consumer Law Issues

Attentive Students

Continuing Legal Education

The Knowledgeable Panel

Truth in Lending Act

Willard N. Timm, Jr., Assistant Director, Tax Clinic, Georgia State University

Jada Charley introduces Steve Cook to speak re: Assistive Technology

Again, many thanks SCLS!

-RFW

Filed under: 1, Law, Legal, Legal Clinic, South Carolina, South Carolina Access to Justice Commission, South Carolina Legal Services, access to justice, access to justice blog, advocacy, attorney, blog, disability, domestic violence, foreclosure, homeless, housing, hunger, indigent, legal aid, poverty, poverty guidelines, public interest attorney , SCLS, George Cauthen, Myrtle Beach, Assistive Technology, SCLS Annual Conference 2009, Kingston Plantation, Jada Charley, Steve Cook, Truth in Lending Act, Willard N. Timm, Tax Clinic, Georgia State University, Consumer Law Issues, Tim Gunn, New York Fashion Week, Flute Solo, Poetry, Singing with accompaniment, Singing, SCATJ Commissioner, SCLS Board member

U.S. Department of Justice Overhauls its Site

Have you heard?

The U.S. Department of Justice overhauled its website and has added a blog. They’re also online on Twitter, Facebook, MySpace and YouTube.

Justice.gov en español

The site is clean and easy to navigate. If you have a moment, take a look!

-RFW

Filed under: 1, DOJ, Department of Justice, LEP, Law, Legal, Limited English Proficiency, Right to Counsel, Rule of Law, South Carolina Access to Justice Commission, access to justice, access to justice blog, advocacy, attorney, blog, disability, people with disabilities, public interest attorney , blog, Facebook, justice.gov en español, Medicare Fraud, MySpace, Twitter, US Department of Justice, US DOJ, website, YouTube

SC awarded AoA Grant to Assist Seniors Access Legal Services

Just a little while ago, I was on a conference call with representatives from California, Louisiana, Maine, Missouri, Nebraska, North Carolina, Ohio, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Utah and Vermont as we discussed 2009 Model Approach Grants awarded to our respective states. The press release is below:

AoA-Grants.Announcement-09_18_09

Exciting news for SC and access to justice for senior South Carolinians!

-RFW

Filed under: 1, Ask-A-Lawyer, Charleston Pro Bono Legal Services, Charleston School of Law, LEP, Law, Legal, Legal Clinic, Legal Documents, Legal Drafting, Legalese, Limited English Proficiency, SC Bar, South Carolina, South Carolina Access to Justice Commission, South Carolina Bar, South Carolina Bar Pro Bono Program, South Carolina Courts, South Carolina Legal Services, access to justice, access to justice blog, advocacy, attorney, blog, disability, elderly, indigent, law students, legal aid, poverty, pro bono, self-represented litigant , 2009 Model Approach Grants, Access Legal Services, Administration on Aging, AoA, SC, Seniors, South Carolina

Guess

What do Harvest Hope and SC foreclosures have in common?

If you guessed that South Carolina has seen a marked increase in foreclosures and requests for food have markedly increased, you win!

According to the Columbia Regional Business Report (CRBR):

South Carolina’s foreclosure rate from July to August 2009 was up 1.94%, reported national real estate tracking company RealtyTrac.com. That number is more than 78% higher than it was one year ago.

According to Harvest Hope:

In the first quarter of 2009, Harvest Hope experienced a 142%  increase in the number of families needing assistance.

Earlier today I attended a fundraiser luncheon for Harvest Hope. It made me focus on how the problems faced by so many living in poverty are faces of our neighbors, our friends, our loved ones.

The “featured” speaker at the luncheon was someone who had been working – two jobs. Two good, solid jobs. Then she got ill. Which started the medical bills and absence from work. Which caused her to lose her jobs. Both jobs. The bills kept coming. When it came to paying bills, she used her money for medical bills and medication. Then she lost her home. She stopped eating so much. That made her sicker. Then she found Harvest Hope.

She was able to eat.

The doctors are still trying to figure out what is “wrong” with her. In the meantime, she can eat. Without Harvest Hope and the necessary nutrition it provides, she would be even more sick.

While these societal problems may not be legal, I guarantee that the Legal Aid Telephone Intake Service (LATIS) has been referring people to Harvest Hope.

And once people have nutrition and can think about something other than an empty belly, then they may call LATIS for assistance with a problem with their Landlord. Or maybe for help with their Medicaid benefits. Or help with a way to escape their abusive spouse.

-RFW

Filed under: 1, AIDS/HIV, Ask-A-Lawyer, Health Care, Law, Legal, South Carolina, South Carolina Access to Justice Commission, South Carolina Legal Services, Unemployment, access to justice, access to justice blog, advocacy, attorney, blog, children, disability, divorce, domestic violence, elderly, employment, foreclosure, homeless, housing, hunger, indigent, people with disabilities, poverty, poverty guidelines, public interest attorney, subprime mortgage crisis , abusive spouse, Columbia Business Regional Report, foreclosure, Harvest Hope, hungry, Landlord, Landlord/Tenant, LATIS, Legal Aid Telephone Intake Service, Medicaid benefits, poverty, RealtyTrac.com, South Carolina, Tenant

P&A Wants You(r Input)!

Every year the South Carolina protection and advocacy system, Protection and Advocacy for People with Disabilities, Inc. (P&A) asks for public opinion on what they should do also known as priority work areas.

Their Board of Directors reviews the information from the public and compares it to data they have received throughout the year. Once the Board has completed this process, it sets the priority work areas for the year. The reason they’re asking for it now is that their fiscal year runs October 1 to September 30.

To get your input into setting their priority work areas, P&A asks that you complete their online survey that will close on September 10, 2009.

-RFW

Filed under: 1, AIDS/HIV, DOJ, Election, Health Care, Immigration, LEP, Law, Legal, Legal Clinic, Limited English Proficiency, South Carolina, South Carolina Access to Justice Commission, Unemployment, access to justice, access to justice blog, advocacy, attorney, blog, children, constitution, disability, elderly, employment, homeless, housing, hunger, indigent, legal aid, people with disabilities, poll, protection and advocacy system, public interest attorney, self-represented litigant, veterans , South Carolina, protection and advocacy system, P&A, Protection and Advocacy for People with Disabilities Inc., http://www.pandasc.org/, priority work areas, Suggestion Box

Report from P&A about CRCFs in South Carolina

P&A Report

Press Release from Protection and Advocacy for People with Disabilities, Inc. (P&A):

 This is to notify you that No Place to Call Home: How South Carolina has failed Residents of Community Residential Care Facilities has been published today and can be located on the P&A Website at http://www.protectionandadvocacy-sc.org.

 Due to the memory of the actual files, we have provided direct links to the press release, cover letter, report and slideshow.

No Place to Call Home Press Release

No Place to Call Home Cover Letter

No Place to Call Home Report

No Place to Call Home Picture Slideshow

 For a hard copy, please contact P&A:

• By phone 1.866.275.7273 (Voice) or 1.866.232.4525 (TTY) (Toll-free in SC)

OR

• By e-mail: info@protectionandadvocacy-sc.org

 -RFW

Filed under: 1, Law, Legal, South Carolina, access to justice, access to justice blog, attorney, blog, disability, housing, people with disabilities, protection and advocacy system , Community Residential Care Facilities, CRCFs, How South Carolina has failed Residents of Community Residential Care Facilities, http://www.protectionandadvocacy-sc.org, No Place to Call Home, P&A, Protection and Advocacy for People with Disabilities

Favorite Civil Justice Movie?

I just received an email about American Violet, a movie about civil justice released earlier this year.

And as I read the promo and watched the video preview, I realized that movies are powerful media. I reflected on earlier movies that had inspired me to move into a civil justice career such as Cry Freedom, Sound and Fury, A Civil Action, and Mississippi Burning to name a few.

Then I thought, if seeing the preview for American Violet has inspired me so, what other inspirational movies are out there that I’ve either forgotten or have never seen?

That’s where YOU Dear Reader come in.

Please add your favorite in the comments section of this blog.

Feel free to say why or how it inspired you too.

Plus you gain the opportunity to inspire someone else too.

Thanks!

-RFW

Filed under: 1, Law, Law Related Education, Legal, Right to Counsel, South Carolina, South Carolina Access to Justice Commission, access to justice, access to justice blog, blog, disability, legal aid, people with disabilities, poverty, poverty guidelines, pro bono, public interest attorney , A Civil Action, American Violet, cinema, civil justice inspiration, cochlear implants, Cry Freedom, Deaf, favorite movie, film, Mississippi Burning, movies, powerful media, Sound and Fury

Dallas News: Immigrants with Mental Illness

Appropriate treatment is difficult for most who live with serious mental illness. Often treatment is relegated to the detention system instead of appropriate community or in-patient facilities.

Just take a look at recent posts out of Iowa,  Las Vegas, Ft. Lauderdale, and Lakeland.

But if you’re an immigrant in the U.S., it’s almost impossible to find appropriate treatment, at least according to an article by the Dallas News.

Excerpts:

They get limited mental-health care while in detention, advocates say – and that’s only if they’re diagnosed. They aren’t entitled to competency hearings before standing trial. And the majority of them face judges without legal counsel, and with little recourse to defend themselves from deportation.

. . .

“We are continuing to work … to improve the services and the availability of health care to those in our custody,” said Tim Counts, spokesman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

But immigration court officials acknowledge there’s little guidance for how to handle mental health once these detainees come before a judge. Although judges can’t accept an admission of guilt from an “unrepresented incompetent,” there are no immigration-court proceedings to determine a person’s competency. Judges have to go with their gut – which can be tough to gauge with language barriers and the frequent use of long-distance video conferencing.

What is the solution? Is there a solution. I’d love to hear from you.

-RFW

Filed under: Court, Health Care, Immigration, LEP, Law, Legal, Limited English Proficiency, Right to Counsel, access to justice, access to justice blog, advocacy, attorney, disability, people with disabilities, self-represented litigant , community treatment, Dallas News, Ft. Lauderdale, Immigrants with Mental Illness, Iowa, Lakeland, Las Vegas, mental illness, serious mental illness, Tim Counts, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement

Health Care and Bankruptcy: Not a Match Made in Heaven

Health or Money: The Choice is Yours

In this week’s issue, the Free Times quotes Commissioner Sue Berkowitz speaking about health care, insurance and the effect of facing medical bills without insurance:

Forty-six million Americans, including 750,000 South Carolinians, are going uninsured,” Sue Berkowitz, director of the South Carolina Appleseed Legal Justice Center, said in kicking off the forum.study, Berkowitz said that 50 percent of personal bankruptcies in the nation stem from medical bills.

Many more are underinsured, and the numbers of people in both categories have been increasing for years.

At the same time, health care costs have been spiraling out of control for just as long and exacting a crushing toll on household and business finances. Citing a

That’s a staggering figure – 50% of personal bankruptcies in the United States stem from medical bills!

Click here to read the full article.

-RFW

Filed under: 1, Health Care, Law, Legal, SC Appleseed Legal Justice Center, South Carolina, South Carolina Access to Justice Commission, access to justice, access to justice blog, attorney, disability, elderly, indigent, people with disabilities, poverty, public interest attorney , American Journal of Medicine, bankruptcy, Commissioner Sue Berkowitz, Free Times, Health Care, South Carolina Appleseed Legal Justice Center

Harriet McBryde Johnson: A Tribute

In June 1999, while I was studying for the South Carolina Bar Exam, an event occurred many miles away that would significantly impact my life. The United States Supreme Court decided Olmstead v. LC on June 22, 1999. (If you’re not familiar with this landmark decision, please read it or about it)

I know, you’re wondering “What does this have to do with Harriet?”

Read on.

My first job out of law school was at Protection and Advocacy for People with Disabilities, Inc. (P&A) as the PAIMI attorney. Most of my time was spent in mental health institutions working on civil rights for people with serious mental illness. And then in January 2000, I was asked to work to implement the Olmstead decision in South Carolina.

That’s when Harriet entered my life.

I’d heard about Harriet. Much. She was tenacious. She was a force to be reckoned with. But I’d not yet met her. Harriet was a board member at P&A and at one time had worked there. Now she was a successful attorney in Charleston. I couldn’t wait to meet this woman who struck fear in some and awe in others.

And then she came to a meeting. A small woman with a long braid in a big wheelchair. We exchanged greetings and the meeting started. We discussed the usual stuff. And then she spoke. Wow. She didn’t yell. She didn’t rant. She spoke. With feeling. With knowledge. With personal conviction. Harriet won me over.

Over the next several years, I would work with Harriet on some projects, even give joint presentations. I read her books. Her short stories. I brought her to tears once with a personal story. (I didn’t mean to do that) We lunched together. Then we no longer lunched together because of special diet restrictions.

I told her I admired her. She questioned me “why? Because I’m in a chair and I do things?” I stammered and stumbled all over my words. I wish I’d been able to answer her appropriately that I admired her simply because she inspired me to be a better person. A better attorney.

Harriet didn’t relinquish much. And she didn’t turn away from a fight. She was a great woman and a great attorney.

July 8, 2009 would have been Harriet’s 52nd birthday.

And July 8, 2009 there will be a concert in Charleston to benefit the Harriet McBryde Johnson scholarship. Details below from SCWLA:

Music will focus on Latin music and protest songs.  Leah Suarez and Lindsay Holler will be the featured performers.  The event is July 8th at 7 pm at Circular Church, 150 Meeting Street, Charleston, South Carolina.  The suggested donation is $10.00. 

If you cannot attend, but would like to send a contribution:
Checks should be written to:  USC Educational Foundation, Memo line “Harriet M. Johnson Scholarship”  

Mailed to:   Office of Development USC, School of Law 701 S. Main Street Columbia, SC 29208   For more information, contact Susan Dunn at 830-1571, skingdunn@aol.com.

-RFW

Filed under: 1, Court, Law, Legal, South Carolina, South Carolina Bar, access to justice, access to justice blog, advocacy, attorney, disability, law students, people with disabilities, protection and advocacy system, public interest attorney , benefit concert, Charleston SC, Circular Church, Harriet M. Johnson, Harriet McBryde Johnson, Inc., June 22 1999, Olmstead v. LC, P&A, Protection and Advocacy for People with Disabilities, SCWLA, South Carolina Bar Exam, United States Supreme Court