A Must Attend Event: November 4, 2009

If you are a law student considering a career in public service or a recent graduate working for the government or a non-profit legal service entity, then mark your calendar for November 4th.

CCRAA program flyer

Heather Jarvis, an attorney specializing in student debt, will present information on the College Cost Reduction and Access Act (CCRAA).

From the Flyer:

Attendees will learn:

• how the new income-based repayment plan works,
• how to qualify for Public Service Loan Forgiveness, and
• the answers to all your questions about student loans

Special thanks to Pamela D. Robinson, USC School of Law Pro Bono Director, for sharing this special event!

-RFW

Filed under: 1, Continuing Legal Education, Law, Legal, South Carolina, South Carolina Access to Justice Commission, USC School of Law, access to justice, access to justice blog, attorney, blog, employment, indigent, law students, pro bono, public interest attorney, starting salary for attorneys , public interest, USC School of Law, public service loan forgiveness, USC School of Law Pro Bono Program, Pamela D. Robinson, student debt relief, College Cost Reduction and Access Act, CCRAA, College Cost Reduction Access Act, Government, Loan Repayment, Heather Jarvis, student debt

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

8.24.09 Ask-A-Lawyer: Nosy’s Report

8/24/09 Ask-A-Lawyer Call Center at WLTX

On Monday Night, WLTX became ground zero for ASK-A-LAWYER. We arrived in time to start and learned that the calls had started as early as 4:30 p.m. Once we were shown our call-center, we started answering phones “Ask-A-Lawyer, how may I help you?” while our web counter-parts began their online-duty.

Jeff Goodwyn answers questions at WLTX Ask-A-Lawyer

The 6 on-camera attorneys were Cynthia A. Coker, T. Jeff Goodwyn, Edna Primus, Jennifer W. Rubin, Tana Vanderbilt and Robin F. Wheeler.

Cindy Coker, SC Bar Public Services Director

The phones were ringing non-stop. WLTX graciously provided us with water and chocolate; both of which were appreciated. Darci Strickland and Andrea Mock interviewed us during the session and helped us maintain our energy with their enthusiasm. And at the end of the evening, JR Berry dropped by to thank us for our hard work.

Edna Primus and Tana Vanderbilt field questions

Caller Origin:

• 18 of my 30 calls originated from Richland County;
• 1 from Fairfield;
• 1 from Florence;
• 1 from Greenwood;
• 2 from Kershaw;
• 3 from Lexington;
• 3 from Orangeburg; and
• 1 from Sumter.

Mind you, I had 30 calls total in a 2 1/2 hour span and I even took a moment off the phones for an interview.

Caller Issues:

• 6 questions about Divorce/Alimony
• 5 Child Support/Child Custody and Visitation/Adoption
• 4 Consumer Law including Bankruptcy
• 3 Wills and Estates
• 2 Employment
• 2 Medical Malpractice/Health Care
• 1 Social Security
• 1 Landlord/Tenant
• 1 Homeowners Associations
• 1 Immigration
• 1 Traffic Laws
• 1 question about Taxes; and
• 2 non-legal questions.

Ask-A-Lawyer also included the “web-chat” piece. Three attorneys (Peter M. Balthazor, K. Cameron Currie, and Jennifer L. Locklier) fielded web questions during the same time.

All in all, it was a busy time, but I enjoyed every caller and hope that they felt that they had received a worthy service from us. I will DEFINITELY do this again.

Thanks to SC Bar staff Deborah Morris who coordinates the event, Joey Heape who insures that the web equipment functioned properly, and Elizabeth Martin who popped in for a few photos.

And special thanks to our host station, WLTX. You helped us make this a success!

-NOSY WHEELER

LATE PS – I wish I had asked the name of the camera operator at our station because he was an absolute delight. When he saw us running out of water, he brought the new bottle to us. Thank you Camera Operator!

Filed under: 1, Ask-A-Lawyer, Court, HHS, Health Care, Immigration, Law, Legal, Right to Counsel, Rule of Law, SC Bar, SSDI, SSI, South Carolina, South Carolina Access to Justice Commission, South Carolina Bar, South Carolina Bar Foundation, South Carolina Bar Pro Bono Program, Unemployment, access to justice, access to justice blog, advocacy, attorney, blog, children, divorce, domestic violence, employment, foreclosure, housing, indigent, labor, pro bono, public interest attorney, self-represented litigant, state employment security commission, subprime mortgage crisis, veterans , SC Bar Ask-A-Lawyer, WLTX

POVERTY: SC

Is this our future?

Poverty + SC = 4Ever

Is this what we want for our future?

Recently I’ve been referred to a few poverty resources that I want to share.

1. A powerful video (by United States Conference of Catholic Bishops) sent to me by Shannon Scruggs of the SC Bar Foundation.
2. Poverty in America has published its LIVING WAGE CALCULATOR, an interactive online tool.

When I pulled up South Carolina, 10 of the 22 occupational areas had typical hourly wages within the poverty range.

Almost half. Almost half of the people going to work every day in South Carolina are working for wages that keep them in poverty.

That’s scary! Especially when most of us consider that employment helps to break the poverty cycle. It’s daunting when you think that the South Carolina Access to Justice Commission was set up expressly to ensure that people living in poverty receive equal access within the civil court system. Essentially one of the unspoken beliefs is that full access to the same legal rights helps lift people out of poverty.

It’s certainly time for us to wage a war on poverty.

• People living in poverty face barriers within the public education system.
• People living in poverty face barriers within the public health care system.
• People living in poverty face barriers within the civil and criminal justice systems.

If people going to work everyday remain in poverty, then how can we expect to break the cycle of injustice? Educational injustice. Health care injustice. Civil and criminal injustice.

And yes, I’m familiar with the saying that the only way to eat an elephant is one bite at a time, but if Madame Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton will forgive my paraphrase/alteration/juxtaposition of  it takes a village to raise a child – it is much easier to eat the elephant if the whole village takes one bite.

In order for us to break the poverty cycle, it will take effort from each of us.

Please join.

-RFW

Filed under: 1, Court, Law, Legal, South Carolina, South Carolina Access to Justice Commission, access to justice, access to justice blog, attorney, blog, children, employment, indigent, labor, poverty, poverty guidelines, public interest attorney , Hillary Rodham Clinton, it takes a village to raise a child, Living Wage Calculator, Madame Secretary, poverty, Poverty in America, public civil and criminal justice system, public education, public health care, SC, SC Bar Foundation, Shannon Scruggs, South Carolina, the only way to eat an elephant is one bite at a time, typical hourly wages, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops

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 , http://www.pandasc.org/, P&A, priority work areas, Protection and Advocacy for People with Disabilities Inc., protection and advocacy system, South Carolina, Suggestion Box

Tune In TONIGHT and Tomorrow Morning

The Big Picture is once again featuring a topic of interest to South Carolinians in the civil justice community. This week’s topic is The Working Poor.

For the program, Mark Quinn, the host of The Big Picture, interviewed prestigious guests such as Rep. Gilda Cobb-Hunter, Sue Berkowitz of SC Appleseed Legal Justice Center and Dr. Adolphus Belk of Winthrop University.

TV Air Date: TONIGHT: Thursday – August 06, 2009 at 7:30 pm

Every Friday morning “The Big Picture on the Radio” airs on ETV Radio. Discussion focuses the television topic of the week amongst other timely subjects. Be sure to check ‘The Big Picture’ homepage each Friday afternoon to tune in live starting at 1:00 p.m.

TV repeats of Thursdays broadcast will air each Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and again on Sunday at 1:00 p.m.

-RFW

Filed under: 1, Law, Legal, Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, SC Appleseed Legal Justice Center, SCETV, South Carolina, South Carolina Educational Television, The Big Picture, Unemployment, access to justice, access to justice blog, blog, employment, homeless, hunger, indigent, labor, legal aid, poverty, poverty guidelines, public interest attorney, state employment security commission, subprime mortgage crisis , August 6 2009, Dr. Adolphus Belk, ETV Radio, Mark Quinn, Rep. Gilda Cobb-Hunter, SC Appleseed Legal Justice Center, Sue Berkowitz, The Big Picture, The Working Poor, TONIGHT, Winthrop University

Did you know? Job Postings

Did You Know? Job Postings

A great online resource for Public Service and Pro Bono Legal Service job postings can be found online at http://www.abanet.org/legalservices/probono/job_postings.shtml.

-RFW

Filed under: 1, Law, Legal, Legal Clinic, Unemployment, access to justice, access to justice blog, attorney, blog, employment, law students, legal aid, pro bono, public interest attorney, starting salary for attorneys , ABA, ABA Standing Committee on Pro Bono and Public Service and the Center for Pro Bono, American Bar Association, http://www.abanet.org/legalservices/probono/job_postings.shtml, Job Postings, online resource, Public Service and Pro Bono Legal Service

JOB ANNOUNCEMENT

Help Wanted

Low Country Legal Aid announces 2 JOB Vacancies:

Since August 2000, Low Country Legal Aid has engaged community volunteers and retired attorneys to provide free advice, education and legal representation to low-income families in Beaufort, Jasper and Hampton Counties. Low Country. Legal Aid is registered with the South Carolina Secretary of State as a 501(c)(3) charitable organization.

1. Low Country Legal Aid seeks experienced attorney to serve as Executive Attorney. Responsibilities include case management, legal representation, oversight of volunteer lawyers, and legal education.

Please send resume by US. Mail to:

Peter Strauss
55 Hospital Center Common
Suite 300
Hilton Head Island, SC 29926

OR

By Email to pstrauss@thestrausslawfirm.com

2. Low Country Legal Aid seeks experienced leader to serve as Executive Director. Responsibilities include serving as the public voice of LCLA, maintaining the fiscal and operational strength of LCLA, supervising and motivating staff.

Please send resume by US. Mail to:

Peter Strauss
55 Hospital Center Common
Suite 300
Hilton Head Island, SC 29926

OR

By Email to pstrauss@thestrausslawfirm.com

-RFW

P.S. Please pass along to qualified individuals who may be interested in these positions!

Filed under: 1, IOLTA, IRS, Law, Legal, Legal Clinic, Legal Documents, Legal Drafting, South Carolina, South Carolina Access to Justice Commission, Unemployment, access to justice, access to justice blog, advocacy, attorney, blog, employment, indigent, legal aid, poverty, poverty guidelines, public interest attorney , 501(c)(3) charitable organization, August 2000, Beaufort, Executive Attorney, Executive Director, Hampton, Hilton Head Island, Jasper, Low Country Legal Aid, Peter Strauss, South Carolina

SC Appleseed in the NEWS!

Another SC Access to Justice Commissioner has news or should I say is IN the news today. Sue Berkowitz, the SC Appleseed Legal Justice Center Executive Director, was quoted in the prestigious Wall Street Journal.

The story? Numbers on Welfare See Sharp Increase. Excerpt from the story:

Twenty-three of the 30 largest states, which account for more than 88% of the nation’s total population, see welfare caseloads above year-ago levels, according to a survey conducted by The Wall Street Journal and the National Conference of State Legislatures. As more people run out of unemployment compensation, many are turning to welfare as a stopgap.

South Carolina is one of the “leading” states – in which welfare cases have increased from +10% to +30% over last year’s rates. Other states with sharp increases include California, Colorado, Florida, Maryland, Ohio, Oregon, and Washington.

~~~~~~~~~~

On another note, we noted that the SC Appleseed Legal Justice website has a new look too. And we like it!

-RFW

Filed under: 1, Law, Legal, SC Appleseed Legal Justice Center, South Carolina, South Carolina Access to Justice Commission, Unemployment, access to justice, access to justice blog, attorney, blog, employment, homeless, housing, hunger, indigent, poverty, public interest attorney, subprime mortgage crisis , California, Colorado, Commissioner, Florida, Maryland, Numbers on Welfare See Sharp Increase, Ohio, Oregon, SC access to justice commission, SC Appleseed Legal Justice Center, South Carolina, Sue Berkowitz, Wall Street Journal, Washington, www.wsj.com

Don’t Get Hurled Away by a Hurricane!

Hurricane season is here! (June 1-November 30) 

A hurricane can have potentially long lasting and devastating effects if you are caught unprepared.  It is not difficult to take steps before a hurricane hits to protect you and your home, but dealing with the aftermath of a hurricane when you did not prepare can be a long painful process.  Don’t wait until a hurricane is on its way toward your home town; take the time now to secure the safety of you and your family so you are not caught off-guard by a hurricane this season.  In South Carolina, the South Carolina Emergency Management Division is a great place to start to prepare for a disaster.

Steps to take before a hurricane hits (FEMA):

1. Secure your home with permanent storm shutters or plywood.
2. Make sure your roof is securely fastened to the frame structure of your home.
3. Trim trees and shrubs.
4. Clean out rain gutters and downspouts.
5. If you have a boat, secure it.
6. Build or determine which room in your house is the most secure in case of an emergency.
7. Make copies of your personal records including Social Security Card, Birth Certificate, Passport, etc.  Give the copies to relatives in another state or keep them stored electronically where they can be accessed from anywhere.

How to get help after a hurricane hits (National Disaster Legal Aid):

1. A list of local organizations that can help can be found at www.lawhelp.org
2. If you lose your ID, passport, Social Security card, or other important documents you can find out how to replace them at www.uslegalforms.com/life-documents.htm
3. Sometimes homes are destroyed or inaccessible in the wake of a hurricane and families are not able to return home.  The US Department of Housing and Urban Development Office of Public and Indian Housing and FEMA have programs that provide temporary housing.
4. Families that are displaced due to hurricane might have problems finding employment.  The Disaster Unemployment Assistance Program gives assistance through unemployment benefits.  You cannot be eligible for these benefits if you already receive unemployment.  Visit their website for eligibility requirements.
5. If you are displaced because of a hurricane then your children will need to find a temporary school to meet their education needs.  www.serve.org/nche/downloads/dis_hb/parents.pdf.
6. Disaster food stamps assistance is available in the wake of a hurricane.
7. Legal aid attorneys can help with landlord/tenant issues, contractor disputes, insurance issues and more.
8. Other websites that can help in disaster preparedness:
   1. www.redcross.org
   2. www.abanet.org/disaster
   3. www.nilc.org/disaster_assistance/index.htm

-Allie

Filed under: 1, HHS, Health Care, Immigration, Law, Legal, Legal Documents, SSDI, SSI, South Carolina, South Carolina Legal Services, Unemployment, access to justice, attorney, disability, elderly, employment, homeless, housing, labor, legal aid, veterans , American Bar Association, disaster, emergency, FEMA, food stamps, housing, HUD, hurricane, insurance, legal forms, National Immigration Law Center, NILC, Red Cross, SCEMD, South Carolina Emergency Management Division, Unemployment