Press release from the Ohio Department of Development:

HEAP Summer Crisis Program begins July 1.
Up to $175 available for eligible households.

Ohio Department of Development Director Lisa Patt-McDaniel today announced that funding to assist eligible households with summer cooling costs through the Home Energy Assistance Program (HEAP) Summer Crisis Program is available July 1, 2010 through August 31, 2010.

"The HEAP Summer Crisis Program is vital to the safety and well-being of Ohio's older citizens, ensuring they receive the assistance they need during the hot summer months," Patt-McDaniel said.
 

The following appeared in La Prensa on June 25, 2010. Read below, or view on La Prensa's website.

Unique seminar for social workers
examines plight of the undocumented

_{By Alan Abrams, La Prensa Senior Correspondent}

The preamble to the National Association of Social Workers Code of Ethics clearly spells out their primary mission "with particular attention to the needs and empowerment of people who are vulnerable, oppressed, and living in poverty."

Thus it was no surprise that Martha Delgado, Social Work Field Director and Workshop Facilitator of the University of Toledo Social Work Department quickly associated that mandate with the plight of undocumented workers and immigrants. Delgado is responsible for UT's Social Work internships as well as for the curriculum for Master's and Bachelor's candidates.

The result was an informative "Social Work Practice Workshop" presented June 17, 2010, at La Galeria at 1222-24 Broadway Street in Toledo, Ohio.

ABLE Mobile Benefit Bank Secures $1 Million in Benefits
for Residents of Lucas County

The Mobile Benefit Bank (MBB) of Advocates for Basic Legal Equality, Inc. (ABLE) reports securing close to $1 million in food stamps and other benefits for residents of Lucas County since April 2009.

Group forms to monitor well-being of the elderly 

The following article appeared June 28, 2010 in The Toledo Blade and was written by Blade staff writer Sarah Mervosh. Sandra Hamilton (ABLE) is featured in the story. Read below, or view the article on The Blade's website.

When Sandra Hamilton was employed as a lawyer, she handled a case in which an elderly man was taken advantage of by his much younger wife, beginning when she forced him to live alone while she lived with a boyfriend.

"He was starting to complain to his neighbors because he didn't have food. He was out of cigarettes," Ms. Hamilton said.

"She wasn't really taking care of him."

The abuse culminated when she kidnapped him from the hospital so she could start receiving his pension checks again.

"At the time, I really didn't realize the crime that was being committed. It just seemed to be wrong," Ms. Hamilton said.

Now, she knows the woman was guilty of financial exploitation and neglect - two common types of abuse against the elderly. To raise awareness and help protect the elderly from being victims of abuse, Ms. Hamilton recently founded the Coalition of Organizations Protecting Elders (COPE).
 

Re "Consumers want option of small-dollar loans," June 1: Ted Saunders, chief executive of CheckSmart, says that with Ohio experiencing an economic downturn, people need reliable access to short-term credit. This is certainly true. What Ohioans don’t need is high-cost, short-term credit that they can't repay.

The new payday loan products being offered are similar to the old payday loan products that led the Ohio legislature to amend the payday loan law in 2008 to reduce costs to borrowers.

Unfortunately, there were loopholes in laws that licensed other forms of loans, and the payday lenders have sought to maintain their high-cost structure by migrating there.
 

Statement by attorney Elizabeth Gorman (July 2)

"Our client, Mr. Mills, has consistently acted to protect the parent-child relationship between him and his daughter," says Elizabeth Gorman, lead counsel and attorney with Legal Aid of Western Ohio, Inc. in Dayton, Ohio.  "Before his daughter was one month old, Mr. Mills had registered with the Ohio putative father registry and filed a complaint for paternity and custody of his daughter. In fact, Mr. Mills had filed his complaint for paternity and custody before Ms. Doss was approved as the placement through the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children and before Ms. Doss and his daughter left the State of Ohio.  Our client was found to be the biological father by genetic testing and established paternity of his daughter in Ohio," she says. 

_{JULY 7, 2010}

Citizenship not based on mother

The following Letter to the Editor by Managing Attorney Mark Heller (ABLE) appeared July 7, 2010 in The Toledo Blade. Read below, or view the article on the Blade's website.

Contrary to the July 2 Readers' Forum letter "Mother's country decides citizens," a mother's country does not decide the citizenship of newborn babies.

The only persons born in the United States who are not citizens of the United States — because they are not subject to U.S. jurisdiction — are babies born to foreign diplomats and foreign occupying armed forces.
 

Rules regulate water shutoffs
Judge cites 20-year-old pact

The following article was published July 2, 2010 in The Toledo Blade. Read the story below, or view on The Blade's website.

Any regulations implemented by the city of Toledo's water department must be consistent with an agreement put in place nearly two decades ago - including the notification of homeowners before their water is shut off, a Lucas County Common Pleas Court judge recently ruled.

Visiting Judge Steven Yarbrough's order, released earlier this week, effectively halts some new administrative regulations that the water department had intended to implement. Instead, the regulations outlined in a 1992 consent judgment agreed upon in court will continue in effect.

Attorney George Thomas from Legal Aid of Western Ohio said the ruling was in response to a recent filing by the agency on behalf of a man whose water was turned off without notice. He added that the judge's decision will keep Toledo's obligations status quo.
 

Statement by Attorney Elizabeth Gorman (July 7)

For most people, it is difficult to imagine anything more painful to a father than having his child offered up for adoption in a distant state without his knowledge or consent. That is exactly what happened in this case.

Statement from Legal Aid of Western Ohio, Inc. (July 14)

The following statement can be attributed to Elizabeth Gorman, attorney for Benjamin Mills. Ms. Gorman is an attorney with Legal Aid of Western Ohio, Inc. in Dayton, Ohio.

Since being ordered by the Ohio court to return Benjamin Mills' daughter to Dayton, Stacey Doss has gone to two courts in California to prevent Mr. Mills' child from returning to Ohio. Previously, three judges, including two California judges have ruled that issues surrounding Mr. Mill's daughter's future should be heard in an Ohio court.

Statement from Legal Aid of Western Ohio, Inc. (July 23)

This statement can be attributed to LAWO Attorney Elizabeth Gorman:

As the custody case between Benjamin Mills and his daughter's mother, Andrea Conley, progresses toward court next week in Dayton/Montgomery County, Ohio, Mr. Mills continues to place his trust in the court to reach a fair resolution regarding the custody of his daughter.  Mr. Mills sought legal assistance in July of 2008 in order to protect his rights as a parent of his daughter. Mr. Mills did not consent to the adoption or the removal of his daughter from Dayton/Montgomery County and took immediate action to establish himself as the father, to locate his child, and have courts honor his parent-child relationship with her.

2010 Access to Justice Awards

The 2010 Access to Justice Awards Dinner was held Wednesday, May 26, 2010 at the Crowne Plaza in Toledo. More than 600 guests came together to honor the awards recipients for their contributions to furthering equal access to justice in Northwest Ohio.

Receiving the Public Interest Law Award was Vincent M. Nathan. The Community Advocacy Award was presented to Betty Amison Lewis and Distinguished Service Awards were given to R. Jeffrey Bixler, Honorable James C. Carr, and Thomas L. Young. Ray Suarez, senior correspondent for PBS' The NewsHour, was the keynote speaker.
 

Legal Aid Presents 2010 Access to Justice Awards

The Access to Justice Awards Dinner, celebrating the great work of legal aid and pro bono programs in northwest Ohio, attracts more than 600 attendees including local and regional community leaders, public officials, attorneys, judges, and community advocates.

Scheduled for Wednesday, May 26, at the Crowne Plaza Toledo, this year’s recipient of the Community Advocacy Award is Betty A. Lewis-Amison for her exceptional efforts made on behalf of disadvantaged persons and communities. The Public Interest Law Award recipient is Vincent M. Nathan, an attorney who has provided outstanding advocacy on behalf of disadvantaged persons and groups. In addition, three Distinguished Service Awards to Hon. James G. Carr, R. Jeffrey Bixler, and Thomas L. Young for their commitment to the mission and work of legal aid in northwest Ohio.
 

SEMINAR: Debt Collection Defense & the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act

Toledo City Council vote is sought on utility-bill collection
Law would let firms try to obtain $18.7M owed

By TOM TROY

Mayor Mike Bell's administration soon may put more collection firms to work to collect $18.7 million in delinquent water and sewer bills under an ordinance that could be voted out of a City Council committee Tuesday.

Councilman Joe McNamara said yesterday he will seek a vote on a measure held up since last year over concerns the collection agencies might use abusive practices to collect unpaid utility bills.
 

Cool Cities Toledo Tour

From WGTE Knowledge Stream

 

The Green Building for Cool Cities Toledo Tour took place on March 15, 2010 at the new Lucas County Arena. The event featured three LEED projects: The Lucas County Multi-Purpose Arena, awaiting LEED certification for new construction, The Center for Equal Justice Building, newly designated LEED Gold for its major renovation of the 1926 building...

Area agency delivers aid to those who need it most

The following article appeared in the Sunday, April 4, 2010 edition of The Toledo Blade. AmeriCorps Member Craig Mossing and Managing Attorney Deb Jennings are quoted in the article. Read the story below or view on the Blade's Web site.

By TOM HENRY

Janice K. Dillon remembers a day when doctors made house calls with little black satchels that seemed to have a cure for everything.

Boy, times have changed.

While that kind of personal, in-home attention may be rare from doctors these days, there is a growing interest among service agencies to meet the disadvantaged and disabled at libraries, festivals, churches, senior centers, soup kitchens, Goodwill stores, housing shelters, and other places where people congregate - or even contacting them, as in Mrs. Dillon's case, with a house call.

Mobile Benefit Bank is a program created in 2009 by Advocates for Basic Legal Equality Inc., in conjunction with the Toledo Community Foundation, the United Way of Greater Toledo, and the Lucas County Department of Job and Family Services.

Here's how it works: Five AmeriCorps volunteers set up shop at their various locales across Lucas County on any given day with mobile technology that includes a laptop, scanner, printer, and air card (the latter allows them Internet access wherever they go).
 

ABLE Hosts Second Annual Citizenship Day Events
at the Center for Equal Justice

Advocates for Basic Legal Equality, Inc. (ABLE) will participate in Citizenship Day 2010 on Saturday, April 17 from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. in the new Center for Equal Justice in downtown Toledo.  Sponsored nationally by the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), ABLE is a host-site for this single-day workshop being held around the country. Advance appointments are not necessary.

"ABLE attorneys and advocates will be available to provide assistance to lawful permanent residents eligible for naturalization," says Visalakshi (Sala) Gembala, a staff attorney with ABLE's Migrant Farmworker and Immigration Program.  Staffed by volunteer immigration attorneys, paralegals, interpreters and other community members, applicants will be able to consult with professionals and ensure that their documentation is complete.
 

ABLE and Farmworker Liaison Group Hosts Consul of Mexico

The Migrant Farmworker and Immigration Program of Advocates for Basic Legal Equality, Inc. (ABLE) and Farmworker Agencies Liaison Communication and Outreach Network (FALCON) are hosting a reception for Vicente Sanchez Ventura, Consul of Mexico (Detroit office) on Friday, April 16, 2010 at the Center for Equal Justice in downtown Toledo, Ohio. The reception will follow a joint meeting of ABLE and FALCON where advocacy developments involving the local farmworker community will be discussed.  Following the joint meeting, the Consul will discuss services offered to Mexican nationals in Northern Ohio and how his office is planning to recognize this year’s bicentennial celebration of Mexico.
 

Land banking will revitalize our housing market

The following opinion article written by Wade Kapszukiewicz (Lucas County Treasurer) and Joshua Murnen (ABLE attorney and Equal Justice Works fellow) appeared March 22, 2010 in the Toledo Free Press. Read below or view on the Free Press Web site.

In December, the Ohio House of Representatives passed bipartisan legislation that will allow Lucas County to create a land bank to help restore our local housing market. With a vote of 83-14, House Bill 313 passed with a resounding supermajority, a rare example of broad political consensus in an era marked by partisanship and legislative gridlock. Now the Ohio Senate has the opportunity to approve this bill for Gov. Strickland to sign. If it does, Lucas County will have the opportunity to use an extraordinary new tool to bring positive change to our region.
 

Ohioans could pay more for worse phone service

The following guest column appeared in the March 12, 2010 edition of the Dayton Daily News (DDN). The commentary was written by Ellis Jacobs, a senior attorney at Advocates for Basic Legal Equality in Dayton who often represents clients in telecommunications matters. Read below, or view on the DDN Web site.

As if households in Ohio aren’t under enough financial stress, now the Ohio House and Senate are considering legislation that could make it harder to pay monthly home telephone bills.

If passed, the legislation would deregulate Ohio’s land-line telephone companies, allow residential rates to increase and weaken consumer protections and service quality.
 

Suit alleges excessive delays of health care
Federal court filing targets state agency

By ERICA BLAKE
BLADE STAFF WRITER

When Victoria Bigelow began the process of acquiring Medicaid benefits through the state of Ohio, she was having liver problems.

She required back therapy. She was unable to work because of pain.

Now, 18 months later and still waiting, she feels desperate, she said.

Advocates say Ms. Bigelow is one of thousands of Ohioans who have been denied timely health-care benefits.

Like Ms. Bigelow, applicants wait months and sometimes years, according to a lawsuit filed recently in U.S. District Court in Toledo.
 

Attorney General Holder Speaks at LSC Black History Month Observance

From LSC:

The Legal Services Corporation and the Justice Department are partners in "our country's ongoing pursuit of justice," Attorney General Eric H. Holder, Jr., said today in a keynote address at LSC's Black History Month celebration.

"In the last 35 years, LSC has proven to be one of our nation's most effective agents for meaningful change. You all empower Americans who are struggling to live with dignity, who want to keep their jobs, who want to stay in their homes and who want to secure the basic necessities for their families. Quite simply, you change and you improve lives. And you've succeeded in pushing our nation toward progress and toward fairness. These are the achievements we've gathered here today to celebrate," the Attorney General said.

Congress established LSC in 1974 to promote equal access to justice and to ensure the delivery of high-quality civil legal services to the nation's poor. The Corporation is the single largest funder of civil legal aid, providing grants to 136 independent nonprofit legal aid programs across the country.