Tickets are available!

Join Legal Aid of Southeastern PA at the Fête for Justice! 4 Freedoms, 4 Counties, 4 Justice! on Thursday, May 19, 2022. Tickets are now available at LASP20.org (orange button, top right corner)! We will celebrate 20+ years of service (many are considering it a reunion), and honor 45+ individuals at Normandy Farm, 1401 Morris Road, Blue Bell, PA 19422, from 6-10 p.m. Buy tickets and learn about sponsorship opportunities at our event website: LASP20.org.

Indoor AND OUTDOOR spaces will be available for our celebration.

We will hear thought-provoking remarks from Keynote Speaker Dr. Reuben Jonathan Miller, sociologist, University of Chicago assistant professor, and author of Halfway Home: Race, Punishment and the Afterlife of Mass Incarceration. The book was featured in the May 1, 2022 New York Times Book Review "New in Paperback" column.

We also will welcome Fête for Justice Poet Trapeta B. Mayson, who was the 2020-21 Poet Laureate of Philadelphia. She is also a licensed clinical social worker and Chief Program Officer for a community mental health agency in Philadelphia.

Gathering at Hatboro Federal Savings on March 18 (from left): Tesla Thomas, LASP Staff Attorney; Thomas W. Kenvin, IV, Hatboro Federal Savings Vice President/CFO/COO/Treasurer; Joshua Goldblum, LASP Bristol Office Managing Attorney; Shawn Boehringer, LASP Executive Director; and Linda R. Roehner, Hatboro Federal Savings President and CEO.

HATBORO - Legal Aid of Southeastern PA thanks Hatboro Federal Savings for its generous support through the Neighborhood Assistance Program (NAP), a tax credit program to encourage businesses to invest in projects which improve distressed areas. Program awards were announced Nov. 9, and a ceremonial check was presented at Hatboro Federal Savings March 18.

The partnership, now in its third year, will provide LASP with $100,000 to increase legal services in the economically struggling areas of Bristol borough, Levittown and nearby communities (zip codes 19007, 19020, 19021, 19056 and 19057). About 35% of Bucks County’s low-income people live in this area, and about 51,000 are eligible for LASP services. The funding has helped LASP serve 1,269 residents in the targeted Lower Bucks communities in 2020-21, a 27% increase over the prior year. The Dept. of Community and Economic Development (DCED) administers NAP.

“Hatboro Federal Savings has a strong and active commitment to the local Bucks and Montgomery communities," said Linda R. Roehner, President and CEO of Hatboro Federal Savings. "We are so excited to contribute for a third year through the Neighborhood Assistance Project to Legal Aid of Southeastern PA."

At the April 27, 2022 Phillies game, LASP and other nonprofit grant recipients were announced before the start of the game vs. the Colorado Rockies. Below are some scenes from the evening, which culminated in a windswept 7-3 Phillies win. Thank you, Phillies Charities, and Go, Phils! It was a great night at the ballpark. For more photos, please see our website News story.

DOYLESTOWN - Mandy Mundy, Executive Director for the Bucks County Foundation, stopped by our Almshouse office in Doylestown on April 7 to discuss the Foundation's work and contribution to Legal Aid of Southeastern PA. A $10,000 grant from the Foundation will support legal services to address housing and income insecurity for Bucks County residents. LASP thanks the Foundation for its support! Bucks County Foundation is a charitable trust created in 1979 to serve Bucks County and its residents.

Front row: Mandy Mundy, Bucks County Foundation Executive Director, and Shawn Boehringer, LASP Executive Director. Back row: Rhonda Sherrod, Staff Attorney; Carol Wilbur, Doylestown Office Manager; and Joshua Goldblum, Bristol Managing Attorney.

Legal Services Corporation (LSC) presented its 2022 report, "The Justice Gap: The Unmet Civil Legal Needs of Low-income Americans," on April 28. For the full 88-page report, data sets and more, visit https://justicegap.lsc.gov. Click image at right for six-page summary. LASP receives federal funding from LSC. Some key findings:

BLUE BELL - The Montgomery Bar Foundation will present a new twist on an old classic! The 2022 Legal Aid Golf Classic will be Monday, June 27 at a new location, Cedarbrook Country Club, 180 Penllyn Pike, Blue Bell, PA 19422. This year’s outing also has a new time. It will start with a luncheon at 12 p.m., with shotgun start at 1:30 p.m. The format will still be a “best-ball scramble” with numerous prize holes and on-course refreshments.

Golf will be followed by a special fundraising dinner event, featuring a silent auction, raffle prize, and more. Non-golfers are encouraged to attend the post-golf dinner and fundraising festivities. Proceeds from the event, along with a contribution from the Montgomery Bar Association, are donated to LASP. Look for more details, including registration information, in coming weeks at montgomerybar.org.

For more information, please see the Spring edition of Sidebar magazine, pages 26-27.

May 6: Delaware County Law Day Celebration (in-person)

10 a.m.: Ceremony in Courtroom 1 of the Delaware County Courthouse, Media

2 p.m. Program at the 1724 Chester Courthouse, 412 Avenue of the States, Chester, PA 19013

May 11 (hybrid): Dependency CLE - Part 1 of 2 - "Foundations of the Dependency System"

LASP Staff Attorney Christina Sorenson will be a panelist at this dependency CLE through the Montgomery Bar Association. The MBA website notes, "This CLE was requested by the Judiciary and it has been suggested that all attorneys practicing in this area attend."

June 14 (hybrid): CLE for Attorneys - Training for June 24 Bucks County Custody Clinic

Part II: Veterans Advocacy in Pennsylvania: Basic Veterans Law

Learn the basics of veterans benefits law, from filing a claim through the appeals system. Topics: overview of the VA claim process; basic principles of veterans benefits; appeals to the Board of Veterans Appeals; appeals to the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (CAVC); and attorney fees. Register: https://bit.ly/3xCvuUm. To become a VA accredited attorney prior to this webinar, email vets@pbi.org. 

Part III will be Wednesday, Dec. 7, 2022 on Legal Issues Affecting Military Personnel.

On April 4, LASP Veterans Advocacy Project Staff Attorney Richard Prebil presented a CLE with the Pennsylvania Bar Institute (PBI). The webinar, entitled "Introduction to Trauma Informed Advocacy & the PA Veterans Treatment Courts," was the first of a three-part series hosted by the PA Bar Association Military and Veterans' Affairs Committee on Veterans Advocacy in Pennsylvania.

Richard discussed understanding trauma and trauma responses, practical use of trauma-informed advocacy in a lawyer's everyday practice, and safe advocacy for lawyers through an understanding of vicarious trauma.

The second part of the presentation discussed veterans treatment courts in PA and their importance to justice-involved veterans in the Commonwealth and nationwide. "We as advocates have an ethical responsibility to not only understand trauma, but understand how, informed by a client's trauma history, we can best advocate without retraumatizing, and without burning ourselves out," Prebil said.

April 4 CLE: Richard Prebil, LASP Veterans Advocacy Project Staff Attorney, with Lisa M. Grayson, Cumberland County Register of Wills & Clerk of Orphans’ Court and Co-Chair, PBA Military and Veterans Affairs Committee.

Photo at left: Presenters at the April 21 Pardon Symposium at Widener University (from left): Stacey Mandel, pardon coach and mindfulness teacher; Jonathan Abdur-Rahim King, re-entry specialist; Megan Reinprecht, LASP Community Engagement Unit Staff Attorney; Erica Briant, CEU Supervising Attorney; Saad Soliman, Executive Vice President of Government Affairs and Criminal Justice at Patient Sorta; Celeste Trusty, Secretary of the Pennsylvania Board of Pardons; and John Linder, professor and Mayor of Chester, 2012-16.

Photo at right: Johnathan Abdur-Rahim King discusses the reentry process.

CHESTER - Over 110 people attended the “Reentry, Resetting, and Redemption: Pardon Symposium and Clinic: Part III” at Widener University on April 21. At the clinic, LASP attorneys Erica Briant and Megan Reinprecht helped 45 people start the pardon or expungement process, or gain a better understanding of the timeline and process that will be needed in their individual situation.

The symposium, at Widener's Kapelski Learning Center, provided inspirational remarks and updates on the pardon process from Celeste Trusty (pictured at right), Pennsylvania Board of Pardons Secretary, and Saad Soliman, National Reentry Systems Subject Matter Expert. Saad is Executive Vice President of Government Affairs and Criminal Justice at Patient Sorta. Jonathan Abdur-Rahim King, Reentry Professional, organized this community event and shared remarks of encouragement. Professor and former Chester City Mayor John Linder emceed. Christopher Welsh, Delaware County Public Defender, and Matthew Krouse, Delaware County Deputy District Attorney, were among the other speakers. Some members of the audience shared their reentry experiences and the challenges of navigating Pennsylvania's pardon process. Stacey Mandel, pardon coach and mindfulness teacher, noted that the "optional" narrative is extremely important to include in a pardon application.

More photos from the evening are in a LASP Flickr album.

Two earlier events in the "Reentry, Resetting, and Redemption" series were held in person in Chester city. In January 2022, a rise in COVID cases due to the omicron variant forced the scheduled Part III to go virtual. It is available on YouTube (1 hour, 13 minutes).

Bucks County Bar Association's The Writs ~ Spring issue

PA Supreme Court ruling protects Fourth Amendment rights of parents in child welfare cases (pages 18-19)

by Katrina Ihrer, LASP Staff Attorney, and Kasey Daniel, LASP Doylestown Managing Attorney I The Writs | Spring 2022 | https://bit.ly/36pfiL4

A Fresh Perspective on PFAs (pages 16-17)

by Abigail Bukowski | The Writs | Spring 2022 | https://bit.ly/3MMNpfc

Montgomery Bar Association's Sidebar ~ Spring edition

by Carolyn Mirabile, Esq. (page 17) | https://bit.ly/3K7DO1a

Montgomery Bar Foundation Update (pages 10-11) by Kate Harper

Lisa Whalen ~ New Managing Attorney of Pottstown Office | LASP 20+ Fête for Justice (page 16)

by Jack Costello, MBA Deputy Executive Director | https://bit.ly/3vrA1aO

The Equity Stop: Did you know? A sigh of rent relief (pages 28-29)

by Michelle R. Dempsky, LASP Staff Attorney | https://bit.ly/3jUImgH

"Crozer to shut down more hospital wards at Delaware County Memorial and Crozer-Chester"

by Kenny Cooper | WHYY News | April 21, 2022 | https://bit.ly/3KjwfnR

"Crozer Health announced closures of county treatment centers come June"

by Alex Rose | Delaware County Daily Times | April 21, 2022 | https://bit.ly/3OIRtio

"Brief showcases the crucial role pro bono lawyers play in eviction defense"

April 6, 2022 | Pro Bono Net | https://bit.ly/3Mdc9Nu linking to Legal Services Corp. brief, "Effective Volunteer Partnerships: The Critical Role of Pro Bono Attorneys in Eviction Defense"

"Housing affordability in PA before & after COVID-19 - Evictions & recommendations to help families"

38-page report from nonpartisan PA Budget & Policy Center | April 2022 | https://bit.ly/3k49utr

Summary finding: "Pennsylvania faced a pre-pandemic housing affordability problem, but the crisis has made matters worse." (page 2)

"Pennsylvania aims to reduce wait for clemency by years"

by Marc Levy | Associated Press | April 4, 2022 | https://bit.ly/clemency-4-4-2022

Are you behind on rent or utility payments due to COVID-19? Apply NOW for help through your county. LASP's News webpage, bit.ly/rent-utility-help, has links and flyers for programs WITH EXISTING FUNDING in Bucks, Chester, Delaware and Montgomery counties.

Landlords and utility companies get paid through this funding, and tenants avoid eviction. Live elsewhere in PA? Find the program in your county. bit.ly/rent-utility-help

Pennsylvanians now have until May 20, 2022 to apply for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP). LIHEAP helps families living on low incomes pay their heating bills in the form of a cash grant. The 2021-22 program opened Oct. 18, 2021. The PA Dept. of Health and Human Services extended the deadline by two weeks. More information: https://bit.ly/3MDPjyJ.

The public health emergency has been extended to July 15, 2022. The extension means that Medicaid/Medical Assistance eligibility rules set during COVID-19 will stay in place until at least July 30, 2022 (the end of the month in which the public health emergency ends). Rules in the Families First Coronavirus Response Act include:

LASP may be able to help if you are denied Medicaid or other public benefits. Call our Helpline at 877-429-5994 Monday-Friday from 9 a.m.-1 p.m., or apply online at lasp.org/apply.

Pennsylvania Health Access Network (PHAN) provides information on how to maintain health care coverage when the public health emergency ends.

The PA Dept. of Human Services asks people to update your address and other case information with the County Assistance Office, especially if you moved during the pandemic. All renewal documents will be mailed to the address on file with the County Assistance Office. To report changes to your case file, you can:

DHS also invites Medicaid enrollees to sign up for text alerts to ensure timely updates on benefits.

CHESTER city - Crozer Health has informed Delaware County that it will close all outpatient mental health and substance use disorder treatment services located at Community Campus in Chester by June 19. Services impacted are the Crisis Center at Crozer-Chester Medical Center and the Behavioral Health Outpatient and Ancillary Services at Community Campus including:

In addition, the outpatient Crisis Center at Delaware County Memorial Hospital and inpatient Acute Substance Abuse/Addiction Unit (First Steps Program) at Crozer-Chester Medical Center will both permanently close by June 11.

In a statement issued April 29, Delaware County stated, "The Delaware County Department of Human Services has been proactively working with new providers to offer mental and behavioral health services and drug and alcohol treatment to residents to prevent any gap or loss of coverage in these vital services to residents. The Department is also working with and investing in existing providers to expand services that they are already offering to residents."

UPPER DARBY - Get help learning the steps and timeline to clear your criminal record at an in-person Expungement Clinic and Second Chance Expo.

Hosts: Rep. Mike Zabel, Rep. Gina H. Curry, Legal Aid of Southeastern PA, and Upper Darby Mayor Barbarann Keffer and Delaware County District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer.

Registration is required! Please call Rep. Zabel’s office to RSVP at 484-200-1563 or 484-200-8262.

CROYDON - Rep. Tina Davis will host a Second Chance Expo in partnership with Legal Aid of Southeastern PA (LASP). Get started clearing your criminal record, so you can improve your opportunities for jobs, school and housing. You'll meet one-on-one with a LASP advocate to learn your timeframe and steps needed.

Contact 267-580-2660 or Repdavis@pahouse.net for more information or to RSVP. Click image at right, for one-page flyer.

EXTON - A free legal clinic is held monthly at PA CareerLink of Chester County. The spring 2022 clinics will be Tuesday: May 10 and Tuesday, June 14 from 9 a.m.-12 p.m. at PA CareerLink, 479 Thomas Jones Way, Suite 500, Exton, PA 19380.

The clinics are a partnership between LASP, United Way of Chester County's Financial Stability Center, and PA CareerLink of Chester County.

For one-page flyer, click here, or image above.

AVONDALE - Get your mobile home taxes reassessed for free. Advocates from LASP and United Way of Chester County will hold outreach events (see schedule above). Please bring your title and/or other home documents (insurance documents, Bills of Sale/receipts if home purchased in 2019 or later).

Partners for the 2022 project are: LASP, United Way of Chester County, and LCH Health & Community Services (formerly La Comunidad Hispana).

More information about the project visit project webpages for United Way of Chester County and Legal Aid of Southeastern PA. Click for one-page English flyer | Spanish flyer

Job descriptions & how to apply: lasp.org/careers

If you received e-news as a forward or found it on social media, please subscribe at lasp.org/enews or email Marion Hoffman Fraley, Communications Director, at mfraley@lasp.org.

Past issues are at lasp.org/enews.