2018 POST ANNUAL CONFERENCE/WINTER EDITION
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Client Council
Regina Kelly, Chair
Shawntelle Fisher, Vice Chair
Betsy Biben
Jeremiah Grace
Gwen Hanley-Pamplin
Rochelle Jackson
Sue Lau
Darnell Moore
Ronald Simpson-Bey
Suzanne Small
Rosita Stanley
LaShung Willis
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Hello Friends:
It was great seeing and meeting you all in Houston at our 2018 NLADA Annual Conference. I hope you all enjoyed the conference and learned a lot from the many tracks that were offered. I want to say thank you to everyone that took the time to fill out the evaluation surveys. We received excellent feedback. There has been a lot of discussion going on already of how we plan to make next year's annual conference in Detroit even better. Our goal is always to keep the knowledge flowing.
I want to take the time to ask everyone for three things if I could. Everyone should have had or will have one last board meeting by the end of the year. Please make it your business to either get on the agenda to discuss what you learned from the NLADA Annual Conference or follow under the "Other Business" section. This gives you an opportunity to show your board that trainings like this are well worth sending you to. Most importantly, please do not forget to share your newly learned nuggets with your community. Third, I want to ask you all to please continue to use the Client listserv to keep everyone informed with the great work you all are doing around the world helping clients. Please do not forget to use the Dropbox for materials on the sessions.
Also, I want to encourage you all to please participate in contributing a small fully tax-deductible donation to NLADA in support of access to counsel for all. Any amount you could give will be greatly appreciated. There are many easy ways to donate to NLADA:
visit our secure website
to make an online gift, mail a check to our office, or give by text at 202-804-9806!
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I wish you all a very happy holiday to you and your family.
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My very best regards,
Regina Kelly, Chair
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Post Annual Conference Highlights
- Client Member Listserv
- Session Feedback
- Client Contribution Awardees
- Client Caucus
- Client Reception/Game Night Pics
Client Member Spotlight
- Eddie B. Ellis, Jr.
- Mary Wilson
Poetic Justice Corner
- Suzanne Small Poetry
- Michael Woody Poetry
Client Resource Center
Upcoming NLADA Events
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POST ANNUAL CONFERENCE HIGHLIGHTS
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CLIENT MEMBER LISTSERV has been BUZZING
With all this Post Annual Conference chatter...
We couldn't be more excited to have launched this new member benefit for all of the clients in our NLADA member community, and we look forward to building our new online community together!
Alecia Newby
-- Thank you all for your hard work, your hospitality. The conference was very informative and empowering. Hope to see you all again next year.
LaShung Willis
-- Another outstanding NLADA conference! It's always great meeting with others who share the same visions and goals to improve their communities. Things learned provided me with more tools to get better outcomes for my clients and organizations. Thank you, and all, for this opportunity.
Leonor Cortez
-- Thank you very much for everything.
Liza E. Merrill
-- Great conference! Thank you for all your hard work!
Suzanne Small
-- Thank you. Had a very wonderful and informative time. It was the best.
Regina Kelly
-- Thank you, everyone, for attending this year's annual conference here in Houston. We received a lot of great feedback from each session. I videoed all Client sessions and took a few pictures and they are available on my Facebook page at Regina Kelly. Please feel free to share or add to your collection of information to refer back to when needed. Most presenters dropped the documents they used during a presentation in the toolkit Dropbox. I hope this helps you on your continued journey. We look forward to seeing you all again next year I'm Detroit. Thanks again!
Gwen Hanley-Pamplin
-- Hello & Good evening,
Hope everyone has made it back to there homes safely. Once again we had a very successful conference I like to say thank you to the staff of NLADA for doing such an outstanding job. Look forward to seeing you’ll in Detroit next year. Thanks
Julie Reiskin
-- I want to add my thanks to NLADA and the client leaders on the NLADA board. Thank you all for your wisdom and time. I appreciate all you do.
Salea Perry
-- Thank You to NLADA Conference and Client Leaders...
Houston Texas thank for your hospitality and the sessions were informative ... It fuel me up again. I am proud and amazed of all the work And I would like say congrats again for our sisters and brothers who received outstanding awards in recognition of the hard work you do every day. Thank You NLADA Team.
Victor L. Washington Sr.
-- Thank you for the great hospitality and it was a pleasure.
***To help client leaders sign up, just have them contact
membership@nlada.org
through their preferred email address, or send us their contact information and we will send them an invitation.***
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SESSION FEEDBACK
The Client Track this year consisted of eight sessions that proved to be extremely informative, enlightening, interactive, and impactful! Highlighted below you'll find some great feedback from the evaluations process that will prove how well-received Clients found this year's Client Track!
Client Caucus
Described as: "Powerful, Encouraging, Inspiring, Loved the Client engagement, Highly informative, and Respectful to all Clients"
Wills, Trust, and Estates
Described as: "Very informative, interesting, learned a lot"
Suggestion: Get a speaker that is knowledgeable of all states.
Now That You've Become a Board Member
Described as: "Informative and very knowledgeable"
Suggestion: All board members need this.
Client's and Board Positions
Described as: "Speaker was very knowledgeable, informative"
Lifting Up Community Voices
Described as: "Excellent and informational"
For Such A Time As This
Described as: " Informative and needed"
LSC & the Client Voice
Described as: "Great information, speakers were knowledgeable, learned a lot"
Suggestions: Wanted to hear about the clients that took those visits. Wanted to hear more success and challenges client board members have.
Re-Entry
Described as: "Powerful, impactful, energizing, excellent, the honesty, incredible, informative, amazing, authentic, perfect"
"I learned I have to address trauma with my clients".
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2018 CLIENT CONTRIBUTION
AWARD HONOREES
NLADA & TimeBanksUSA is grateful to all of our client members for their contributions and achievements.
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Suzanne Small,
Greater Boston Legal Services
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Suzanne Small has been a member of the Greater Boston Legal Services Board of Directors for the past nine years. During this time Suzanne has participated and is presently Chairperson of the Caucus. She has worked ardently and passionately in the Community Education Committee, and Legislative Advocacy Priorities’ in representation our mental health community and has done advocacy work with Center Club and the National Alliance of Mental Illness (NAMI). Suzanne has organized and presented forums on Recovery from mental health challenges, and substance misuse. She has worked as a mentor and in participation has worked with attorneys and clients, advocating for both mental health and legal services. Most recently, Suzanne assisted in data collection relevant to mental health surveyed issues in the black community for the Cambridge Health Alliance research project. Suzanne has also participated in fundraising activities for NAMI walk teams and community awareness.
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Oliver Hill
, Orange United Tenants Association (OAUTA)
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Oliver Hill is a founding member of the Orange Avenue United Tenants Association representing 660 units of public housing. It is a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation that started in 1973. Mr. Hill has served as President and Executive Director for all but 10 years of its existence. OAUTA provides training, education, and advocacy services to the residents of public housing. The Board of Directors includes representatives from each complex and they meet monthly. Recently, OAUTA received a national award from HUD naming it the Best Tenant Origination in the County representing a middle-size housing authority.
Mr. Hill has also run for City Commission where he received the second most votes of all the candidates before losing the general election. He has been a civil rights leader and once lead a strike against Leon County for failing to transport low income students to their schools and, as a result, the buses were ordered to start transporting the children to their schools.
Recently, Mr. Hill was instrumental in raising the utility allowance for residents when many housing authorities are cutting the allowances. He served on a committee advising the housing authority board to convince them that the extremely hot weather in Florida should be considered when setting the allowance.
He is recognized city-wide as a leader for residents of public housing and appears before the Housing Authority Board, the City Commission, the County Commission and other groups advocating for explanation of affordable housing.
OAUTA was awarded a $250,000 HUD grant to help residents of public housing obtain services to help them transition to better jobs and obtain other services. OAUTA has a staff of one administrative assistant, a grant coordinator, and Mr. Hill is the Executive Director and receives no funds for his services.
He has also served on the board of Legal Services of North Florida since 1973.
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Vanetta Jamison
, Legal Aid Society of Cleveland
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Vanetta Jamison, a community Representative Board Member, had served on the Board of Directors of the Legal Aid Society of Cleveland since 2011. In 2016 and 2017 she served as the first non-attorney Board President. She is currently employed at the U.S. Department of Veterans AFFAIRS, where she advocates for veterans and their dependents in the areas of claims, payments and appeals. She helps leads the VA’s partnership with the Veterans Docket at the Cuyahoga County Court.
Her legacy will go beyond 2018. She has helped guide the board through the tough years of the 2008 great recession, and her work has culminated in Cleveland Legal Aid’s first $110 million comprehensive campaign, where we will continue to grow our resources so we can add staff and expand our work in the community. As president emeritus, Ms. Jamison serves as a member of the Campaign cabinet.
In addition to Ms. Jamison’s work for Cleveland Legal Aid, her reach has extended into the national legal aid community. In 2016 and 2017 Ms. Jamison participated in congressional visits to Washington D.C., with Cleveland Legal Aid Management. She has presented at a past NLADA conference, and presented at 2018 NLADA conference on what it means to be a community representative board member. She was a featured speaker at a 2017 LSC Board meeting and is a ready participant for any LSC event at which hey profile client leadership in LSC-funded programs.
Ms. Jamison not only commits to serving the community through her work with Cleveland Legal Aid, she also volunteers on the National Council of Negro Women., Inc.'s Cuyahoga County Section executive board. She has volunteered with Beech brook, KidsHealth2020, Sussex Child Care Development Center, Fernway Elementary School Literacy Program and the council for Economic opportunities. Her passion for fighting poverty in the community is steadfast.
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Have a sneak peak into the Client Track and other Client Activities at
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CLIENT CAUCUS
"Powerful, Encouraging, Inspiring, Loved the Client engagement, Highly informative, and Respectful to all Clients"
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CLIENT RECEPTION/GAME NIGHT
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Eddie B. Ellis, Jr.
On November the 12, 2018, the CFSY held its annual Healing & Hope awards ceremony, and I was surprised to be honored with an award for my work in both our local and national communities. The message I delivered that night is the one I want to tell the world: If given a chance, a child can change.
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My name is Eddie B. Ellis, Jr., and I am a native of Washington, DC. In 1991 when I was just 16 years old, I was arrested and charged with murder after another teenager and I pulled guns on each other – I fired, and very sadly, he was killed. I faced 75 years in prison because of my actions and immediately felt deep regret. More than that, I felt deep remorse and apologized to my victim’s family and friends, knowing I could never replace what they had lost.
I was found guilty of manslaughter and sentenced to 22 years in prison, and I served 15 – for 10 of those years, I was in solitary confinement. During my incarceration, I changed my ways of thinking and living because I wanted to be the person my family raised me to be.
In 2006 I was released from Lewisburg Federal Prison, and I came home to my family and friends. The road was not an easy one – I was dealing with PTSD related to all the trauma I experienced as a child, and the trauma I experienced in prison. But I made the conscious choice that I would never make excuses, and that I would be the best person I could.
From 2006-2008 I used my personal experiences to help others navigate the path toward living healthy, productive lives. In 2008, I became a part of NLADA and begin sitting on its board. Through that organization, I had the chance to meet people working for the common good, many of whom are still my friends to this day. In 2009, I founded One by 1, Inc., a
501(c)(3)
organization focused on supporting both youth and adults, reducing recidivism and keeping communities safe.
Over the years I have become a re-entry advocate/consultant, trainer, mentor, and motivational speaker. My lived experience as a formerly incarcerated person provides invaluable insight and depth into his work that allows me to connect with and engage the community in which I serve and make them safer.
I have had the opportunity to speak in many venues about the criminal justice system and community healing. I have helped train probation officers, lawyers, social workers, and others on best practices in client interaction. In 2016, I became an Incarcerated Children’s Advocacy Network (ICAN) member, which is a group (or family) of formerly incarcerated youth who were sentenced to life and other extreme sentences. I joined the Campaign for the Fair Sentencing of Youth’s (CFSY ) staff as the ICAN Coordinator in early 2018, and am now in the position to positively impact the lives of even more people. One of my current focuses here is teaching former juvenile lifers about the importance of self-care, which I convey to them through a newsletter co-written with a social worker, convenings where people can gather to rest and reflect, and many personal conversations and interactions.
Since my release in 2006, one of the best things I’ve come to have is my family – my wife Camille and our children. But giving back and being a part of the process of change are a huge part of my sense of purpose as well. I owe my wife, children, family, friends, parole officers, doctors, lawyers, social workers, and the staff at the CFSY – all whom showed me they cared – a great debt of gratitude.
On November the 12, 2018, the CFSY held its annual Healing & Hope awards ceremony, and I was surprised to be honored with an award for my work in both our local and national communities. The message I delivered that night is the one I want to tell the world: If given a chance, a child can change.
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Mary Wilson Shares
Her Story
In the 1970’s Mary was getting a divorce and found herself in need of legal representation. One day she was at her local civil legal aid office for an appointment but was kept waiting and waiting. Fed up, she politely asked the front desk staff how she could file a complaint – after all she had been kept waiting with no communication from the office for over an hour. The front desk staff member invited her to a meeting of other clients that Wednesday evening.
Mary shared her perspective, became the Client Council Chair and later joined the board. For more than 40 years, she has been a client advocate making sure that no one was ever treated like she was on that first visit to a legal aid office.
Visiting churches and community centers, Mary also actively shares information about people’s rights and the legal resources available to them. At times facing skepticism from her audience, Mary tenaciously presses forward. At first some people didn’t believe that Mary knew what she was talking about when teaching her community about the importance of creating wills, so that children will more easily inherit a deceased parent’s property without the estate going into probate. Undeterred, Mary got a lawyer to confirm what she was teaching and now has the trust of that community. Never shy, Mary is a powerful force for good.
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NLADA works to put a human face on the issues of equal access to justice by telling the stories of clients and attorneys alike.
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Submit your story to
membership@nlada.org
to be featured on our website and in the next issue!
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POETIC JUSTICE CORNER
Our featured poets are...
Suzanne Small and
Michael Woody
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Justice for Ally
by Suzanne Small
What do they know…
Do you really tell me?
That I am not a force,
with which, to be reckoned.
Standing on my own,
My voice is all I need.
I say it loud!
Freedom and Justice for all.
What do they know…
Do you really tell me?
That those who are in need,
are to be looked upon as lowly.
That is not meant to be.
All people can stand tall;
No matter what their form.
Stand and be proud!
Liberty and Justice for all.
What do they know…
Do they really tell me?
There is no way to make a change,
For the poor and ignored;
Generosity is only fitting.
No more time for people to suffer.
We will bond together.
Join hands, Speak aloud!
Safety and Justice for all.
What do they know..
Do you really tell me?
That the underserved,
Will remain that way for ever.
They will be represented,
Forever in their communities.
Their presence will be known.
There will no longer be
Discrimination!
Protection and Justice for all.
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"LIBERTY"
by Michael Woody
Loss freedoms,
Let freedom ring
From freedom of choice
Not by some constitution
That's designed to put chains on my voice Controlling what I say,
And what my hands can do...
Listen! You just don't have a clue
Take a look at the LADY OF LIBERTY, What she represent?
It's going to take a lot
To have me convinced!
That I'm In the land of the brave,
Home of the free,
What about the invisible chains
Some have yet to break,
That prevent thee, from being all they can be
Hook ,line, and sinker
You fail for the bait,
If you look close enough,
You will see that,
You sealed your own fate.
If you believe you can fly,
Then with the right knowledge,
You can soar through the skies...
Knowledge is the key,
To break free,
Of the psychological chains,
That's help to enslave me,
Knowledge is the key,
But many fail to see,
The opposite of LADY LIBERTY
She's never done anything for me.
She's never said anything,
She will not utter the truth,
It's too much to handle,
For you "CAN'T HANDLE THE TRUTH"
Her story is not spoken,
Her history is mystic,
How could you believe?
A STATUE DOSEN'T EVEN SPEAK!!
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New Client Member Resources
Did you know NLADA has a special membership category just for clients?
Through a NLADA membership, clients engaged in the world of equal justice can take advantage of all of NLADA’s standard member benefits, along with our specially-curated content and engagement opportunities just for clients, including:
- Curated news and information.
- Access to the free Client Member listserv (OPEN NOW!).
- Opportunity to engage through the NLADA Client Council and weigh in on important issues facing clients across the country.
- Tailored programming at the Annual Conference.
- Steep registration discounts.
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ARE YOUR ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP DUES PAID?
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For inquiries about renewing your membership or how to join NLADA please contact us at
membership@nlada.org
.
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***Lone Star Legal Aid in Houston, Texas is in need of 2 new clients to serve on their executive board of directors. Must be from a rural area. Please contact me
ReginaKellyAV@gmail.com
at if you're interested.***
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Sign up two new client members and your next membership is on us!
Your Chair, Regina Kelly
CHALLENGES YOU
to bring in 5 members or more for additional chances of
FREE
memberships with the offer above.
Help us expand our community to your colleagues and peers!
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SAVE THE DATES!
Upcoming NLADA Events
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