|
County bar leaders gather in State College
|
|
County Bar Association leaders (from left) Wendy Leeper, Chester County Bar Association; Greg Nardi, Bucks County Bar Association; William Baldwin, Delaware County Bar Association; and Nancy Paul, Montgomery Bar Association; join Shawn Boehringer (at right) of LASP at the Pennsylvania Bar Association's Conference of County Bar Leaders (CCBL) earlier this month. All five are the executive directors of their respective organizations. Bill and Nancy also are members of LASP's Board of Directors.
Congrats to Bill Baldwin, who won the Arthur J. Birdsall Award at the conference, in recognition of his leadership of the Delaware County Bar Association.
LASP is fortunate to work with very active county bar associations. Thanks to each of them for supporting LASP's work on behalf of low-income and vulnerable people in the region.
|
|
 |
|
|
LASP introduces regional landlord-tenant & VOCA attorneys
|
|
 |
| Sherri Peace-Gordon, Esq. |
|
Sherri Peace-Gordon started in January as LASP's new Regional Landlord-Tenant Attorney. Based in the Chester city, Delaware County office, she handles cases from all four counties. Prior to joining LASP, she was a solo practitioner in Huntsville, Alabama, where she also was a legal services volunteer. Sherri holds a B.S. in radiological sciences from Adventist University of Health Sciences and a J.D. from Samford University's Cumberland School of Law.
Prior to law school, she worked seven years as an active duty soldier in the U.S. Army, and an additional seven working for the Department of the Army in a civilian capacity. She worked in the radiology department as an X-ray specialist and ultrasound technician.
|
|
|
Kimberly Hollenback, Esq. |
Kimberly Hollenback joined LASP's Delaware County division as a Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) Attorney based in the Media office. She works with clients in obtaining Protection from Abuse (PFA) orders. "I'm from Delaware County and still live here, so I'm happy to be able to serve fellow Delco residents," she said. Most recently, she was law clerk to Hon. Ronald Susswein, Superior Court of New Jersey, Mercer Vicinage, in Trenton.
She holds a J.D. from Drexel University Thomas R. Kline School of Law. In addition to her academic accolades, she also won Outstanding Pro Bono Service Honors and was Domestic Violence Law Society Vice President and a founding member. Kim has worked for the Defender Association of Philadelphia, the Delaware County District Attorney's Office in Media, and for the AIDS Law Project of Pennsylvania. Her B.S. in criminal justice, magna cum laude, is also from Drexel.
|
|
|
|
LASP's Annual Report & Pro Bono Supplement
celebrate access to justice, courageous clients
JUST PUBLISHED:
LASP's 2017-18 Annual Report celebrates "a mission of justice" through stories of courageous clients and LASP's work on their behalf, and gives thanks to generous supporters, donors, advocates and volunteers in Bucks, Chester, Delaware and Montgomery counties, and beyond. To view online, visit:
http://bit.ly/2017-18AnnualReport. The
Annual Report Supplement recognizes the invaluable contribution of time donated by board members, attorneys, paralegals and students. It can be viewed at:
Thank you, 2017-18 Pro Bono Volunteers!
To volunteer in 2019, please contact Kesha James, Deputy Director for Advocacy, at 610-275-5400, ext 131 or kjames@lasp.org, or pro bono coordinators in each county.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT in 2017-18 and in the current fiscal year!
|
| Highlights from the counties |
Bucks County
LASP, PennDot & Clarifi to present at 2nd Chance Expo in Bristol Thur., March 14
 Seeking to help Bucks County residents address issues that they may face, the
Second Chance Expo will be
Thursday, March 14 from
6 - 9 p.m. at
Norton Avenue First Baptist Church,
1150 Norton Ave., Bristol, PA19007. The event is co-sponsored by the office of State Rep. Tina Davis.
In addition to a career fair, seminar topics will include:
- Expungements and the new Clean Slate law, the latter which went into effect in December 2018. Erica Briant, LASP's Regional Expungement Attorney, will discuss the expungement and Clean Slate processes to assist residents with minor criminal histories in seeking gainful employment.
- Driver's license restoration. Tammy Kohr of the PA Dept. of Transportation will discuss suspended driver's licenses and driver's license restoration.
- Financial literacy & credit repair. Austin Hall and Maureen McKeown of Clarifi.org will discuss credit checks, foreclosure counseling, debt management, and credit counseling services.
Format: 6 - 7 p.m.:
Open forum/panel discussion. Each agency will present an overview of the services it provides. 7 - 8 p.m.
: Break into groups for workshop and individual discussions by topic and areas of interest. 8 - 9 p.m.
Closing. For questions or to RSVP, please contact Rep. Davis' office at 267-580-2660.
|
|
|
|
Chester County
 Free Clean Slate Workshop Wed., March 13 in Exton
LASP, United Way of Chester County, and PA CareerLink Chester County will present a
Clean Slate Workshop Wednesday, March 13
at 5:30 p.m. The workshop will be held at PA CareerLink Chester County,
479 Thomas Jones Way, Exton
, PA 19341.
|
Chester County Clean Slate Workshop helps 17
|
|
|
Carolyn Marchesani, Esq. (at left), Support Staff with PA CareerLink of Chester County, and Deborah Steeves, LASP Staff Attorney. |
Deborah Steeves, LASP Staff Attorney, presented an information session on Pennsylvania's expungement process and the new Clean Slate law to 17 Chester County residents on Jan. 25. The event was co-sponsored by
PA CareerLink of Chester County and
United Way of Chester County.
A similar workshop is scheduled for March 13 in the same location. For more details in this issue:
CleanSlateWorkshopMarch13.
|
|
|
At
Brandywine Health Foundation's "Let's Talk Coatesville" finale Feb. 7,
Carolyn Johnson, Staff Attorney based in LASP's Chester city, Delaware County office and
Coatesville Area Public Library board VP, was among more than 130 students and community members discussing Coatesville's needs in employment, job training, public transportation, education, and more. A 1.5-minute YouTube video is at:
http://bit.ly/2Edqh9C.
Did you know? LASP offers weekly outreach in Coatesville at The Maternal and Child Health Consortium of Chester County on
Wednesdays 2 - 3:30 p.m.
1001 East Lincoln Highway, Suite #104, Coatesville, PA 19320.
Spanish interpretation is available. LASP also offers monthly outreach at the Coatesville Veterans Affairs Medical Center, for veterans only, on the third Wednesday of every month. The VA Medical Center is at 1400 Blackhorse Hill Road, Coatesville, PA 19320.
Veterans should contact their social worker to schedule appointment.
|
|
| Overcoming obstacles: Before discussing Coatesville's needs, more than 130 people heard inspiring stories from students and other community members. Brandywine Health Foundation sponsored the three-part "Let's Talk Coatesville" series. It addressed family and social supports in October, housing in December, and money and employment at the finale (pictured) Feb. 7. |
|
|
|
15th annual Trial Run 5K - Saturday, June 15
Struble Trail | Downingtown | 8 a.m.
For information about
Trial Run 5K sponsorships, please contact Brian Doyle, LASP Staff Attorney, at 610-436-4510 or bdoyle@lasp.org.
|
|
|
|
Delaware County
Outreach for grandparents at Family & Community Service of Delaware County March 18 & April 2
LASP Staff Attorney Phil Rosenthal will discuss grandparents and their grandchildren's rights to receive benefits from the County Assistance Office at two upcoming "Second Time Around Parents" (STAP) support group meetings. The support groups are sponsored by Family & Community Service of Delaware County (FCSDC). Both will take place at FCSDC headquarters at 600 N. Olive St., Media, PA19063. Phil's presentations are scheduled to take place during each support group meeting as follows (please note that the support groups start half an hour before Phil's presentation):
- Monday, March 18, 7 - 8 p.m.
- Tuesday, April 2, 10:30 - 11:30 a.m.
For more information, please contact
Heather Grinar, LPC, at
610-566-7540, ext. 233 or
hgrinar@fcsdc.org.
|
|
|
High demand for Chester city Section 8 Voucher wait list
 The Chester city Housing Authority announced Jan. 29 that d
ue to a higher-than-anticipated response to the opening of its Housing Choice Voucher Program Waiting List, online applications would close Feb. 4. The previously announced end date was Feb. 28.
More than 3,000 applications were received in two weeks.
The announcement continued, "As stated in the previous public notice, only 500 applications will be randomly drawn by lottery for placement on the Housing Choice Voucher Program waiting list. Based on current funding levels and the anticipated number of program participants who leave the program each year, 500 applications will likely fill program needs for more than five years."
|
LASP Staff Attorney chairs Delco Bar Family Law Section
LASP Staff Attorney
Thomas Kerstan is chairing the 2019 Family Law Section of the Delaware County Bar Association. Tom is also LASP's Pro Bono Coordinator for Delaware County.
|
Montgomery County
Pottstown Expungement Information Session Mon., March 4
LASP, in collaboration with
Better Tomorrows and
Rolling Hills Apartments, Pottstown, will present a FREE Expungement Information Session
Monday, March 4 in Pottstown at
6 p.m.
Erica Briant, LASP Regional Expungement Attorney, will explain the expungement process for adult and juvenile criminal records, Pennsylvania's new Clean Slate law, and the pardon process. The Clean Slate law permits certain criminal cases to be sealed - taken out of public view - so they c
annot be used as barriers to employment, housing, etc. The workshop will take place at 2120 Buchert Road, Pottstown, PA 19464.
For more information, please call 610-323-2554 or email cessely.nixon@bettertomorrows.org.
|
|
|
Support LASP's Annual Giving Campaign
Did you know? LASP's Annual Giving Campaign is ongoing. Your support makes an impact! To support free civil legal aid for low-income and vulnerable people in Bucks, Chester, Delaware & Montgomery counties, please visit:
http://bit.ly/LegalAidHelps
.
Your donation changes lives. Thank you!
|
|
