Pro Bono in Action! RichBar and HELP

Thanks to the Richland County Bar Association’s Public Service Committee!

Filed under: 1, Law, Legal, Legal Clinic, Right to Counsel, South Carolina, South Carolina Access to Justice Commission, access to justice, access to justice blog, advocacy, attorney, blog, homeless, housing, hunger, indigent, legal aid, poverty, poverty guidelines, pro bono, public interest attorney , HELP, homeless, Homeless Experience Legal Project, Judge Zainey, pro bono, Richland County Bar Association

COMING SOON to a town near you: Celebrate Pro Bono

LOUD & CLEAR: PRO BONO ROCKS

At the end of October, across the nation, attorneys will join together to provide Pro Bono services as part of the American Bar Association’s CELEBRATE PRO BONO WEEK (October 25-31, 2009).

Mark your calendars. The South Carolina Access to Justice Commission will be highlighting some of the featured events, programs or pro bono attorneys on the blog.

If  you have a story to share and would like to be a guest blogger, please email me.

-RFW

Filed under: 1, Ask-A-Lawyer, Charleston Pro Bono Legal Services, Charleston School of Law, Law, Law Related Education, Legal, Legal Clinic, Legal Documents, Legal Drafting, Legalese, Right to Counsel, South Carolina, South Carolina Access to Justice Commission, South Carolina Bar, South Carolina Bar Foundation, South Carolina Bar Pro Bono Program, South Carolina Court Administration, South Carolina Courts, South Carolina Legal Services, South Carolina Supreme Court, USC School of Law, access to justice, access to justice blog, attorney, blog, homeless, indigent, law librarians, law students, legal aid, poverty, pro bono, public interest attorney, self-represented litigant , American Bar Association, Celebrate Pro Bono, October 25-31 2009, Pro Bono Week, SC access to justice commission

Guest BLOGGER: Kristen Horne

PROJECT HELP: Year in Review (almost)

Project H.E.L.P (Homeless Experience Legal Protection) is preparing to celebrate one year of success in assisting Columbia area homeless people with their legal needs.  More than 50 attorneys have volunteered their time and expertise at the clinic to assist about 50 clients since November 2008, when the Richland County Bar, the Public Service Committee, and community sponsors launched the project.  Project H.E.L.P’s host for its first year has been St. Lawrence Place, a transitional housing facility for working homeless families in Columbia.  With a year of knowledge and experience, and outstanding assistance from the St. Lawrence Place staff, Project H.E.L.P. is preparing to move to a new location and broaden its client base.

Some exciting changes are in the works.  Beginning in November, Project H.E.L.P. will be hosted by Catholic Charities of the Midlands, on the corner of Assembly and Taylor Street.  This new central location downtown will make the clinic more accessible to clients with limited transportation.  In the past year Project H.E.L.P. has also developed relationships with more Midlands area organizations providing assistance to the homeless and is reaching out to those groups to identify clients who are in need of the clinic’s resources.

Ideally, the clinic will be staffed with five or six volunteers who will donate about two hours of their time on the third Thursday of the month.  The goal for 2009 is to serve between 12 and 15 clients each month.  Clients will continue to make appointments to meet with an attorney volunteer so that we can identify their legal need in advance and give the volunteers a bit of time to prepare to assist the clients.

Another exciting expansion comes in the form of certifying and retaining copies of identification documents for clients.  Homeless individuals often have a difficult time keeping their driver’s licenses, social security cards, and other government issued identification.  This identification is required to use many services, including staying in some shelters.  It can often take six weeks or more to replace lost or stolen identification.  Catholic Charities has graciously offered to maintain a file of certified copies of H.E.L.P. clients’ identification to be used in case those items are lost and need to be replaced.  Volunteers will be needed to notarize these copies.  This is a great opportunity for judges and judicial clerks, paralegals, and law students to give much-needed assistance to Project H.E.L.P. clients without giving any legal advice.  Also, if you have a locking file cabinet that you would like to donate for the project, please let us know.

Project H.E.L.P. was started by Judge Jay Zainey, U.S. District Judge for the Eastern District of Louisiana.  Judge Zainey started Project H.E.L.P. in New Orleans to assist homeless people with maintaining certified copies of identification documents so that they would be available for service providers.  Since Hurricane Katrina’s tremendous impact on the needs of New Orleans residents, the project has grown dramatically and expanded to other cities including New York, Chicago, Baton Rouge, Lafayette, Shreveport, Birmingham, Savannah, as well as Columbia.

In Columbia, the RCBA H.E.L.P. project operates a once-monthly morning clinic offering pro bono legal services and providing basic information about access to government benefits, identification documentation, housing, child custody, and other common legal issues affecting the homeless.  Community programs serving the homeless help the clinic identify clients by encouraging individuals with legal needs to participate.

Morning legal clinics will be held every third Thursday of the month.

Upcoming clinic dates are October 15^th, November 19^th, and December 17^th.

To learn more or to volunteer, please contact Kristen Horne at 255-9530.

Reprinted with permission from the Richland County Bar News. (c) 2009

-RFW

Filed under: 1, Law, Legal, Legal Clinic, Legal Documents, Legal Drafting, South Carolina, South Carolina Access to Justice Commission, access to justice, access to justice blog, attorney, blog, homeless, housing, indigent, legal aid, poverty, pro bono, public interest attorney , Assembly and Taylor Street, Catholic Charities of the Midlands, homeless families in Columbia, Hurricane Katrina, Judge Jay Zainey, Kristen Horne, Midlands area, New Orleans, Project H.E.L.P. (Homeless Experience Legal Protection), Public Service Committee, Richland County Bar, St. Lawrence Place, U.S. District Judge for the Eastern District of Louisiana, Volunteer Attorneys

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 , 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

HUD Provides Guidance re: Reporting by Victim Service Providers

An E-Alert via NLADA led me to the HUD’s online Guidance on HPRP Subgrantee Data Collection and Reporting for Victim Service Providers. This is important so as to preserve the integrity of the safety for victims of domestic violence.

 The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) states that grantees receiving Homelessness Prevention and Rapid Re‐Housing Program1 (HPRP) grants “shall collect data on the use of funds awarded and persons served with this assistance in HUD’s Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) or other comparable database.” (ARRA, p. 107) HPRP subgrantees (including organizations providing HPRP assistance under contract with a subgrantee) must also meet this requirement.

HUD has determined that HPRP subgrantees that are victim service providers as defined by the Violence Against Women and Department of Justice Reauthorization Act of 2005 (Pub. L. 109‐162) (VAWA) should NOT enter data directly in HMIS and must use a “comparable database.” VAWA defines a victim service provider as a nonprofit or nongovernmental organization including rape crisis centers, battered women’s shelters, domestic violence transitional housing programs, and other programs whose primary mission is to provide services to victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking.

-RFW

Filed under: 1, DOJ, Department of Justice, Law, Legal, access to justice, access to justice blog, domestic violence, homeless, housing , ARRA, HMIS, Homeless Management Information System, Homelessness Prevention and Rapid Re-Housing Program1, Housing and Urban Development, HPRP Subgrantee, HUD, NLADA, The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, VAWA, Victim Service Providers, Violence Against Women and Department of Justice Reauthorization Act of 2005

Follow-up: Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure

At the beginning of the month, guest blogger Lil Ann Gray, an attorney with the South Carolina Department of Consumer Affairs, wrote a post on the Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act. It has been an extremely popular and timely post for the SC Access to Justice Weblog.

Well, today I saw that  HUD had submitted guidance on June 18, 2009. Here is the link to their guidance.

Additionally, the South Carolina Department of Consumer Affairs has been very proactive with their own guidance here. And, please take a few moments to check out their blog at http://consumer.thestateonline.com/. It has helpful tips for South Carolina consumers!

Thanks Lil Ann, the SC DCA, and HUD.

-RFW

And thanks to @eppink and @accesstojustice for pointing us toward this.

Filed under: 1, Law, Legal, NHLP, National Housing Law Project, South Carolina, access to justice, access to justice blog, advocacy, attorney, blog, foreclosure, homeless, housing, subprime mortgage crisis , Consumer Blog, Housing and Urban Development, HUD, Lil Ann Gray, Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act, SC Access to Justice Weblog, SC DCA, SC Dept. of Consumer Affairs, South Carolina, South Carolina Department of Consumer Affairs, U.S. Housing and Urban Development

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