“Area Business leader Ed Swyer and Third Department Presiding Justice, Karen Peters participate in Statewide Hearing on the need for Civil Legal Services in New York State”
ALBANY, N.Y. – On Tuesday September 27th, 2016 Chief Judge of New York will convene a statewide hearing on Civil Legal Services with all four Presiding Justices of New York While regional hearings have been convened in the past, this is the first time panelists from across the state will gather at the NY Court of Appeals to address the need for, and impact of, Judiciary Civil Legal Services funding. It is also the first hearing Chief Judge DiFiore has convened on access to civil legal services.
Among the witnesses will be local business leader Ed Swyer who will testify to the economic and social consequences of the lack of sufficient civil legal services. He is joined by 14 other witnesses including former Chief Judge of New York the Honorable Jonathan Lippman. The complete witness list is attached.
Ed Swyer, President, the Swyer Companies & Stuyvesant Plaza, Inc. has long been a supporter of various civil legal service organizations and related projects throughout the Capital Region.
“As a business leader in the Capital Region, I am concerned not only about the quality of life of our residents—including those seeking legal help—but also, with the economic impact of this assistance. I am keenly aware of the need for those services that provide stability and offer economic support to those most in need. Legal services does just that. Providing legal assistance to those at risk of homelessness, those confronting domestic violence and those in need of economic support not only assists individual families but provides overall stability in the community. We have seen for example how widespread a neighborhood’s devastation can become when just one or two homes on a block go into foreclosure. The impact on the family becomes the impact on the block becomes the impact on the neighborhood and community – driving down housing prices and diminishing tax collections.” (Ed Swyer, Hearing testimony)
The Chief Judge will be joined by all four Presiding Justices of the Appellate Divisions: Acting Presiding Justice Peter Tom of the First Department, Presiding Justice Randall T. Eng of the Second Department, Presiding Justice Karen K. Peters of the Third Department, Presiding Justice Gerald J. Whalen of the Fourth Department, as well as New York State’s Chief Administrative Judge, Lawrence K. Marks, and the President of the New York State Bar Association, Claire Gutekunst.
The hearings have been convened by Chief Judge Di Fiore with the assistance of the members of the Permanent Commission on Access to Justice. Capital Region members of the Commission include: Anne Erickson, President & CEO of the Equal Justice Commission, Lillian Moy, Executive Director of the Legal Aid Society of Northeastern New York and Camille Siano Enders, Women’s Bar Association of the State of New York.
Lillian Moy notes “It is exciting that Albany will host this first statewide hearing. The witnesses will demonstrate why funding civil legal services makes sense for all of New York as well as the impact that the funding for judicial legal services has had on client’s lives”
The Permanent Commission on Access to Justice, is chaired by former President of the Legal Services Corporation Helaine Barnett. The Commission seeks to further increase the availability of effective legal assistance for New Yorkers grappling with matters affecting their most basic needs. This entails assisting the Chief Judge in holding public hearings relating to its mandate, conducting relevant research and issuing annual reports to the Chief Judge with its findings and recommendations.
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Contact:
Deanne L. Grimaldi
Legal Aid Society of NNY [email protected]
518.860.6629
New Juvenile Reentry Assistance Program (JRAP) will reduce barriers to housing, jobs and education
ALBANY, N.Y. – The Legal Aid Society of Northeastern New York (LASNNY), in partnership with the Albany Housing Authority (AHA), announces the launch of its Juvenile Reentry Assistance Program (JRAP). The program assists individuals up to age 24 who are currently residing in public housing or would be residing in public housing but for their involvement with the criminal justice system as they transition back into society and secure jobs and housing. Between 2010 and 2014, 5,502 individuals in the Capital Region were counted in this demographic.
JRAP will provide these young people with access to educational resources, employment placing and other core services afforded to public housing residents in Albany. Those in the program will also work with a staff attorney from LASNNY to assist with legal issues they may be facing. The services will be offered through AHA’s W.A.G.E. Center, located at their central offices on Green Street in Albany. “Providing support and re-entry assistance will reduce barriers to public housing, employment and educational opportunities. Our intention is to support youth in realizing their full potential,” said Wendy Wahlberg, deputy director of strategic operations, LASNNY. “The Albany Housing Authority has always been a valued community partner. Our additional re-entry-focused legal services are a natural complement to the W.A.G.E. Center’s expansive and holistic services for public housing residents.”
The program is the result of a competitive bidding process in which LASNNY and AHA were providers in one of three New York cities awarded the grant by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) this June. It is also consistent with HUD’s recent guidance for Public Housing Authorities and owners of federally-assisted housing on excluding the use of arrest records in housing decisions.
“The JRAP grant provides a second chance for young people, giving them the opportunity to work with the attorney to create a new start,” said Steven T. Longo, executive director, Albany Housing Authority. “Support services such as a Work Experience Program, education and training, available at the W.A.G.E Center provide all the tools necessary for that fresh start.”
“Even though civil legal aid attorneys do not represent defendants in criminal proceedings, they can play an important role in dismantling a system that fuels a cycle of re-incarceration by continuing to punish people long after they have served their time.” said Lillian Moy, executive director, LASNNY
“An encounter with the criminal justice system should not be a lifetime sentence for young people,” said Albany Mayor Kathy M. Sheehan. “Our youth need support to find stable housing and quality jobs when they return home so they can reach their potential and contribute their talents to our community. We thank HUD, the Albany Housing Authority, and the Legal Aid Society of Northeastern New York, who worked to secure this important funding for our city and our youth.”
About Legal Aid Society of Northeastern New York: The Legal Aid Society of Northeastern New York’s (LASNNY) mission is to provide effective, free civil legal services and education to and advocacy for people with low income or other barriers to accessing the legal system. We secure basic needs, protect and preserve legal rights, provide equal access to justice and seek fairness and dignity for our clients. For more information about LASNNY, visit us at www.lasnny.org.
About Albany Housing Authority: Since its creation in 1948, the Albany Housing Authority has evolved to provide leadership in meeting the needs and aspirations of its residents and their communities. More than just housing, today the Authority offers families a foundation from which to build successful lives, inspiring investment in self and community through quality rental, homeownership, employment and small business opportunities. We are able to partner for those who wish to transform their future, and that of their community, into one of choice. Visit us at www.albanyhousing.org.
Contact:
Deanne L. Grimaldi
Legal Aid Society of NNY [email protected]
518.860.6629
COLUMBIA COUNTY — Low-income individuals in Columbia and Greene counties will have more access to legal aid, thanks to a recent grant to the Legal Aid Society of Northeastern New York.
The grant will allow the society to “build a technological bridge between urban pro bono volunteers and clients in Columbia and Greene counties and other counties,” said society Executive Director Lillian Moy. “We have great pro bono volunteers.”
The society received a $362,559 Pro Bono Innovation Fund grant from the Legal Services Corp., a nonprofit that describes itself as “the single largest funder of civil legal aid for low-income Americans in the nation.”
The grant “will allow lawyers to conduct online interviews and share documents so they can help review and prepare pleadings for self-represented litigants in housing and consumer law matters,” according to a statement from the society.
“People will be able to do it from their computers at work or home,” Moy said. “The client would be interviewed by a pro bono volunteer in Albany.”
Also included in the grant are Legal Assistance of Western New York and the Volunteer Legal Services Project of Monroe County.
Clients would call the legal aid society’s toll-free number, and if not enough staff is available to represent them, the clients might be connected with a pro bono volunteer in Albany.
“The lawyer will fill out a digital form and generate a pleading that the client can take to court by themselves,” Moy said. “A lot of the work the lawyers will do will be in building interview questions.” Clients may be going into court without an attorney, but they will have a piece of paper that provides defenses with “the reasons you shouldn’t be evicted, the reasons you don’t owe the money. I believe it’s better for a person to get good advice than to go in cold,” Moy said.
Public defenders are generally only called in for criminal cases, she said. “Being evicted and homeless is serious, but not considered the same by the state,” Moy said.
It will take six months or a year to build the technical bridge, she said.
The service depends on having access to a computer and the Internet, so Moy said they will be relying on partners like Columbia Opportunities.
In another legal aid news item, a hearing on expanding access to civil legal aid will take place at 10 a.m. today at the Court of Appeals Building, 20 Eagle St.
Speakers will include a bishop, a rabbi, a pastor, a taxpayer advocate, an immigration law professor, and the director of the Albany Public Library.
The following witnesses will testify at the Chief Judge’s Hearing on Tuesday morning:
The Most Reverend Edward B. Scharfenberger, Bishop, Albany Roman Catholic Diocese; Rabbi Scott Shpeen, Congregation Beth Emeth; the Rev. David Traynham o/b/o Superintendent McKinley Johnson, Pastor of the Greater St. John’s Church of God in Christ; Nina E. Olsen, IRS Taxpayer Advocate; Philip A. Burse, In Our Own Voices, Inc.; Professor Sarah Rogerson (Director, Immigration Law Clinic, Director, Law Clinic & Justice Center, Albany Law School); and Scott C. Jarzombek (Executive Director, Albany Public Library).
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