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March 2, 2018 eBrief
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A multitude of thanks to Project Homeless Connect judges, volunteer attorneys, court staff, legal aid organizations, and students!
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Nearly 200 homeless clients received free legal help last Saturday at Project Homeless Connect, a one-day event at Boutwell Auditorium where several agencies provided services.
The Birmingham Bar Volunteer Lawyers Program coordinated the legal area, but could not have accomplished this great amount of good without significant help.
Over 130 judges, attorneys, service providers, and students volunteered.
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Some 100 clients obtained state identification on the spot because Birmingham City Judge Andra Sparks, Jefferson County Judges Stephen Wallace and Katrina Ross, Bessemer Cut-Off Judge David Carpenter, and other municipal judges listed below resolved legal issues so clients could get their IDs.
Without government IDs, homeless clients can neither get jobs nor obtain housing, thus forcing them to remain homeless. What the judges at Project Homeless Connect did was essentially provide clients an opportunity to end their homelessness.
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Clients also received help from volunteer attorneys, including many who are continuing to help the clients they saw on Saturday.
Jefferson County Public Defenders,
YWCA Domestic Violence Attorneys,
Legal Services Alabama, and
Birmingham Legal Aid Society provided additional legal assistance.
Law students from
Cumberland, the
University of Alabama, and
Jones, and also students from
Birmingham Southern and
UAB interviewed clients to ensure respectful and professional assistance from the moment clients stepped into the legal area.
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A few stories:
- A client unable to get a job because he could not get an ID received help from Volunteer Attorney Brett Knight and Judge David Carpenter. "I thank God for this place," the client said.
 "I now can get an ID and can get my life back on track."
- A client struggling with interest costs on
decades-old traffic tickets was able to get an ID after appearing in front of Judge Andra Sparks."Kindness goes a long way," the client said. "I have received a lot of blessings today."
- "Today was a great day," said a client who met with a volunteer attorney and was able to get legal issues in Hueytown resolved as well as start on repairing his credit. "That's all I can say, 'Today was great.' "
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 Birmingham Municipal Judges
Hon. Andra Sparks
Hon. Kechia Davis
Hon. Jeff Guillam
Hon. Lee Loder
Hon. Deborah Montgomery
Hon. Charles Price, II
Hon. Anita Westberry
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Jefferson County Judges
Hon. Stephen Wallace
Hon. Katrina Ross
Hon. David Carpenter,
Bessemer Division
Suburban Municipal Judges
Hon. Everett Wess
, Midfield
Hon. KC Hairston
, Mountain Brook
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City Attorneys
Charlie Waldrep
, City Attorney for Fultondale, Hoover, Irondale, and Pelham
Teresa Hester
, City Prosecutor for Hueytown
Volunteer Attorneys
Monica Agee, Law Office of Monica Agee,
Roderick Barge,
Alan Baty, Froshin, Barger & Walthall,
LaShaunta White Boler, Boler,
Joseph Bulgarella, S
tephen Bulgarella, Sirote,
Chris Burrell,
Burrell & McCants,
Charles Tyler Clark, Bill Dawson,
Melissa Doggett,
Chris Doty, Smith & Bahakel, Jeff Dummier,
Alan
Garner,
George Gaskin, Carney Dye, Mattie Gaskin, Lee Gilmer, White Arnold Dowd,
Melinda Guillaume,
Perry Jackson, Jackson Law,
Brett Knight, Jaffe Hanle Whisonant & Knight,
Horace Kynard, Law Office of Horace Kynard,
Kay Laumer, Laumer Law,
John Lentine, Sheffield Lentine,
Hope Marshall, White Arnold & Dowd,
Preston Martin, Bressler,
Glenn Mazer,
John Milledge,
Jameria Moore, Sterling & Moore,
William Myers, Myers Law Firm,
Britton O'Shields, King Simmons,
Patrick Runge, Balch,
Terrika Shaw, University of Alabama, Matt Swerdlin,
Joi Travis, Travis Law,
Lacy Triplett, Bressler,
Ida Tyree Hyche, Tyree Hyche & Dixon,
Emily Vande Lune, Bressler, Jeff Wallace,
Ellise Washington, EMW Law,
Stella Wennberg, Wennberg Law,
Amber Whillock, Starnes,
LaTonia Williams
, Five Points Law, and Baker Donelson Pro Bono Assistant
Mary Jane Armstrong
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Birmingham Bar Volunteer Lawyers Program
Nancy Yarbrough,
Katrina Brown,
Heather Bussey,
Graham Hewitt, and
Meg Philips. Staff and AmeriCorps members:
Meg Boulter,
Jessica Chang,
Taylor Elom, and
Memri Williams.
Jefferson County Public Defenders
Chuantae Brown,
Kiara Fiegi,
Derrick Forbes,
Melinda Goldfarb,
Jaime Greene, Keren McElvy,
Texys Morris,
Justin Taylor, Christa Wininger, and Social Work Interns:
Amber Griggs,
Takiya Lawson,
Jessica Mentzer,
Alexus Moore,
and
Jennifer Townsend.
City of Birmingham Municipal Court Staff
Mankita Allen,
Brenda Ashford,
Barry Cade,
Michael Chisem,
Yulonda Hill,
Viktor Holmberg,
David Johnson,
Linda Johnson,
Latoya Brown Judkins,
Shanika Lawson,
India Lattimore,
Adrianne Adams McCray,
Lyndon McCray II,
Miko Nickson,
LaShara Paige,
Lakisha Pratt,
Windy Taylor, and
Latasha Williams.
Legal Aid Society of Birmingham Attorneys
Jequette A. Edmonson,
Mike Fields,
Glenda Freeman,
Pierre Mede,
Kerri Page Parker,
Reginold Robinson, and paralegals/interns
John Burks,
Fran Jones, and
Paige Vander Jaget.
Legal Services Alabama Attorneys
Rae Bolton,
Barbara Luckett,
Lisa Overton, and assistant
Patricia Trabanino.
YWCA Domestic Violence Attorneys
Meredith Carpenter,
Candace Crook,
Jaley Norwood
and intake specialists April Bell and Victoria McLean.
Cumberland School of Law Volunteers
Chris Ballentine,
Luke Brooks,
Mallory Bullard,
Catherine Buttrey,
Jazzell Carter,
Amy Chiou,
Chandler Duncan,
Sarah Emerson,
Carami Garrett,
Ivannoel Gonzalez,
TyLynn Griffin,
Maegan Ingram,
Olivia Johnson,
Alex Laganke,
Jacey Mann,
Brooke Messina,
Shelbie Mills,
Brooke Pruitt,
Elizabeth Rainwater,
Ashley Roy,
JR Thomas,
Taylor Tippel, Sidney Willman, and
Ruby Villalobos.
Univeristy of Alabama Volunteers
Karli Guyther,
Robby Thompson, and
Akira Watson.
Jones School of Law
Kayla Luker
Other Student Volunteers
Kayla Carden, Birmingham-Southern College,
Carter Hancock, Birmingham-Southern College, and
Sidni
Smith, University of Alabama-Birmingham.
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