Join Legal Aid of Southeastern PA in celebrating 20+ years as a regional legal aid program serving 4 counties: Bucks, Chester, Delaware and Montgomery counties.

The Fête for Justice! 4 Freedoms, 4 Counties, 4 Justice! will be Thursday, May 19, 2022 from 6-10 p.m. EDT at Normandy Farm, Blue Bell. Learn more: LASP website News article.

Social Security applications, formerly done in-person, are now submitted by phone or online. LASP clients can have a difficult time with this process. Nationwide, 80% of Social Security applications are rejected on the first try. To help improve the success rate, Staff Attorney Deborah Steeves has implemented an internship program with 13 University of Pennsylvania law students during their spring semester. (She is pictured at left presenting a Jan. 26 Zoom training for the students.)

Over winter break, the law students took the SSI/SSDI Outreach, Access, and Recovery (SOAR) course. The SOAR program trains advocates on the SSI/SSDI application process and improves the success rate by 35%. “In the field of Social Security, this is a big leap,” Steeves said.

The internship program started in late January 2022. Even before students began, LASP attorneys and paralegals – many SOAR-certified – had already started helping 11 clients with their SSI/SSDI applications through the initiative.

If you answered yes to these questions and need help filling out an SSI application, call Deborah Steeves at 610-436-5410 or email dsteeves@lasp.org. For a one-page PDF flyer, click here or image above.

The Pennsylvania Homeowner Assistance Fund (PAHAF) will open for applications on Tuesday, Feb. 1 at pahaf.org. PAHAF will assist Pennsylvania homeowners facing financial hardship due to COVID-19.

The program is administered by the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency (PHFA). It is funded through the U.S. Dept. of the Treasury’s American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. The fund supports Pennsylvania homeowners whose household income is at or below 150% of the area median income (AMI). On Jan. 7, Gov. Tom Wolf announced the statewide launch of PAHAF, with $350 million in funding.

Eligibility information, including income guidelines, are at LASP's website News story.

LASP operates the statewide Hurricane Ida Helpline. Call 877-429-5994 Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-1 p.m., or leave a message if you need help. Your call will be returned.

Legal Aid of Southeastern PA is working with MidPenn Legal Services, North Penn Legal Services, Philadelphia Legal Assistance, the American Bar Association Young Lawyers Division, Legal Services Corp. and FEMA to provide disaster legal aid. For local, state and federal resources, visit lasp.org/hurricane-ida.

CHESTER city - LASP and Safe Corridors hosted "Reentry, Resetting and Redemption: Pardon Symposium: Part III" virtually on Jan. 27. Originally planned to take place in-person in Chester city, Delaware County, the event focused on stories of inspiration and reentry success, plus specifics on how to navigate Pennsylvania's pardon process and how Legal Aid of Southeastern PA may be able to help Delaware, Bucks, Chester and Montgomery county residents. Speakers included Ben Cohen, co-founder of Ben and Jerry’s, Celeste Trusty, Pennsylvania Board of Pardons Secretary, and Saad Soliman, National Reentry Systems Subject Matter Expert.

John Linder, former mayor of Chester city, Delaware County, moderated. Jonathan Abdur-Rahim King, Reentry Professional, was the event organizer and also provided words of hope, while explaining the mission of Reentry, Resetting, and Redemption.

Click here for website News story, or image above for YouTube recording (1 hour, 13 minutes).

Thank you to all community sponsors! Stay tuned to lasp.org/events. An in-person event is planned for April 2022.

Edward Danelski and Susan Strong, longtime LASP Staff Attorneys who retired in 2021, received the The Honorable Milton O. Moss Public Service Award ​from the Montgomery Bar Foundation on Jan. 7. They accepted virtually due to COVID-19.

Since the formation of the Montgomery Bar Foundation in 1987, the Foundation has honored Judge Moss by presenting an award in his honor each year to a Montgomery County resident who has provided exceptional service in support of the justice system. This award is presented annually at the Montgomery Bar Association Business Meeting.

LASP mourns the passing of Edgar Cahn on Jan. 23, 2022. Cahn was a legendary figure and pioneer in the legal services movement in the United States, working with John F. Kennedy and Robert F. Kennedy's brother-in-law Sargent Shriver in the Office of Economic Opportunity in the Johnson administration to establish a federally-funded civil legal aid program that would eventually become the Legal Services Corp.

Click for Cahn's obituary in the New York Times (Jan. 27) and Washington Post. (Jan. 26).

MEDIA, PA | MAY 7, 2019 - William L. Baldwin (at left), Executive Director of the Delaware County Bar Association & LASP Board of Directors; Shawn Boehringer, LASP Executive Director; Gregory L. Volz, Esq., member of the Pennsylvania Joint State Government Commission Youth Court Advisory Committee; Brian Foster, Youth Court Trainer; Hon. Nathaniel C. Nichols, retired Court of Common Pleas judge, and primary judge for both Juvenile Dependency Court and Juvenile Delinquency Court in Delaware County from his election in 2011 to his retirement in 2018; Leslie Faith Jones, Esq., then-Policy & Advocacy Director, Montgomery County Public Defender's Office; Edgar Cahn, Esq., Distinguished Professor of Law at the University of District Columbia David A. Clarke School of Law, TimeBanking creator and Youth Courts advocate; Kathy Smith, Harcum College Law & Justice Program Director & Visiting Scholar at Rendell Center for Civics & Civic Engagement; Dr. Christine K. Gray, Ph.D., TimeBanks USA board member who, together with her husband, Edgar Cahn, teaches courses and workshops on Co-Production, TimeBanking, and systems change at community, professional, and graduate schools; and David Keller Trevaskis, PA Bar Association Pro Bono Coordinator. Click for May 2019 e-news.

"LASP partners with ABA Young Lawyers Division in response to Hurricane Ida"

by Marion Hoffman Fraley | The Writs | Bucks County Bar Association | Winter 2021-22 (page 8-9) | https://bit.ly/3HUp5Wv

Also see the Bucks Pro Bono Honor Roll & Pro Bono Week photos in this issue!

"N.J. and Pa. homeowners who are struggling because of the pandemic can apply for federal funds"

by Michaelle Bond | Philadelphia Inquirer | Jan. 24, 2022 | https://bit.ly/3rNabLe

"Insurance and aid aren't covering the cost of disasters in America. Is it time to relocate?"

by Kyle Bagenstose & Janet Wilson | USA Today, Page 1 | Jan. 24, 2022 | https://bit.ly/3o6on0K

"Community leaders dissect homelessness in Montgomery County: Perspectives, services & solutions examined" (part 1 of 2-part series)

by Rachel Ravina | Lansdale Reporter | Jan. 24, 2022 | https://bit.ly/3ILWFhF

Coordinated Homeless Outreach Center to relocate amid Norristown property conveyance: Change in locale sheds light on homelessness in Montco. (part 2 of 2-part series)

by Rachel Ravina | Lansdale Reporter | Jan. 24, 2022 | https://bit.ly/35vKJ5B

"'Unwarranted and ill-advised:' Bucks County judges warn against plan to close, consolidate and centralize district courts"

by Jo Ciavaglia | Bucks County Courier Times & Doylestown Intelligencer | Jan. 23, 2022 | https://bit.ly/3G8i1Eu

Feb. 2: CLE: Dealing with Addiction (Hybrid)

Feb. 8: Multigenerational Decision Making in Estate Planning & Senior Living (virtual)

Feb. 17: Learning from Our History: An Exhibit of Dockets for Enslaved People in Delaware County (virtual)

Part of series of events planned for the Delaware County Bar Association's 150th anniversary, DCBA and Delaware County Community College have announced a year-long residency of a docket for enslaved people in Delaware County at the college. Click here, or image at right, for flyer.

On Feb. 17, panelists Hon. Nathaniel C. Nichols, Retired Judge of the Delaware County Court of Common Pleas, and Dr. Ife Williams, Professor of Political Science at DCCC, will explore the significance of this piece of history and what we can learn from it. The session will also feature readings from notable works that shed light on the history and impact of slavery in the United States.

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

Help may be available for Pennsylvanians who need help with water bills or who may lose water service. The new Low-Income Household Water Assistance Program (LIHWAP) began accepting applications on Jan. 4.

To qualify, applicants must meet income requirements and have a crisis situation with water service. For eligibility, income guidelines and more, see LASP's website News article.

The Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (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, and will close May 6, 2022.

For eligibility and how to apply, including in-person locations in Bucks, Chester, Delaware and Montgomery counties, see the article and downloadable flyer on LASP's website News page, or click image at right to display full-page flyer.

LASP Staff Attorney Deborah Steeves will hold a virtual workshop on PA Clean Slate and expungements Thursday, Feb. 17 from 11 a.m.-12 p.m.

The workshop is free and open to the public. It is held in partnership with United Way of Chester County and PA CareerLink of Chester County.

FOLCROFT - State Rep. Dave Delloso and Legal Aid of Southeastern PA will hold an Expungement and Pardon Clinic on Saturday, Feb. 26 to help community members learn if record expungement might be an option for them.

The event will be in-person from 10 a.m.-1 p.m. at Folcroft Borough Hall, 1555 N. Elmwood Ave., Folcroft.

Advance registration is required. Anyone interested must RSVP by Feb. 24 by calling Rep. Delloso’s office at 610-534-1002. Questions? Call Rep. Delloso’s office. For more information, see LASP's website Events page.

On Dec. 6, John Farrell moved from Chester County VOCA Staff Attorney to Grants Compliance Specialist. John has been an effective advocate at LASP for over three years. During law school, he interned with the Sheller Center for Social Justice, Community Legal Services, the Temple University Legal Aid Office Family Law Clinic, Philadelphia VIP and the Women Against Abuse Legal Center. Prior to joining LASP, John worked as a judicial law clerk for the New Jersey Superior Court in Atlantic County.

On Feb. 1, Elise Wilson-Coles will move from Accounting/HR Administrator to Human Resources Manager. Elise was a paralegal for several years before joining LASP nearly four years ago. Since the departure of her predecessor last August, Elise has been handling many of the duties of her new role in addition to her usual job responsibilities. "I am elated to serve LASP in this new role," she said.

NORRISTOWN - Christina Sorenson joined LASP as a Staff Attorney in the Norristown Office in September 2021. She handles juvenile court and other matters. Christina has several years’ experience working in family law and dependency court. While a student at the University of Richmond School of Law, she interned with the Legal Aid Justice Center’s Just Children Program in Virginia and the Cook County Public Guardian’s Office in Chicago. She also participated in her law school’s Children’s Defense Clinic. After law school, Christina clerked for two years in the Unified Family Court in Delaware where she participated in dependency proceedings and assisted in the issuance of orders from adjudication to termination of parental rights. After her clerkship, Christina was awarded a two-year Zubro Fellowship, followed by a two-year Soros Justice Fellowship, both at Juvenile Law Center. She holds a B.A. in accounting from Luther College in Decorah, Iowa. Christina can be reached at csorenson@lasp.org or 484-808-2165.

Job descriptions: lasp.org/careers

Stay tuned: More announcements coming soon.

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.