SAVE THE DATE: 18TH ANNUAL GOLF CLASSIC
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We continue celebrating Legal Aid's 50th anniversary at the Legal Aid 18th Annual Golf Classic. So gather up your friends, summer associates and clients and come play to help ensure justice for all in your community.
18th Annual Golf Classic
Stanford University Golf Course
June 15, 2009
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CONGRESSWOMAN JACKIE SPEIER COMMENDS LEGAL AID
Once again this year’s And Justice For All… lunch was a sellout weeks before the event. The special celebration of Legal Aid’s 50th anniversary was a hit and raised a total of $250,000 to help continue Legal Aid’s work towards ensuring justice for all in our community.
Congresswoman Speier’s keynote address praised the work of Legal Aid staff who work for justice every day. Special recognitions from the Congresswoman were presented to the three Legal Aid award winners, DLA Piper LLP
US
, Tom Vacar, Consumer Editor at KTVU/Fox 2, and Jay White Esq. in recognition of their work in ensuring justice for all. DLA Piper’s Brent Yamashita spoke of the gratification of helping clients pro bono. White, who volunteers more than 100 hours a month at Legal Aid, thanked Congresswoman Speier for all her work in protecting consumers. Recently Speier introduced HR1608 which would help stop lending abuses by capping interest rates for consumer credit at 36% annually.
Particularly poignant were the words of Legal Aid client Leua Tagaloa. She spoke about how grateful she was to Legal Aid and especially to housing attorney
Shirley Gibson
for helping her maintain her home, when the house she was renting went into foreclosure and she was facing an eviction.
Co-Chairs Ellen Stross and Lori Lutzker announced a matching 2:1challenge grant from the Sobrato Family Foundation
(read about it below) and urged the guests to contribute to the challenge, making sure Legal Aid continues to provide vital safety net services for low-income persons in need of justice. All guests went home with a special edition 50th anniversary Legal Aid mug.
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Photos from the lunch can be found at:
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LEGAL AID ACCEPTS THE CHALLENGE!
WILL YOU HELP US MEET IT?
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Low-income residents come to Legal Aid for vital safety net legal assistance and our resources are stretched. We’ve been challenged by the Sobrato Family Foundation with a 2:1 challenge cash grant. If we can raise $50,000, they will match it. Will you help and make your generous gift today? |
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CLIENT TURNED INTERN INDUCTED INTO SAN MATEO COUNTY'S WOMAN'S HALL OF FAME A few years ago Mercedes Ballestros came to Legal Aid as a Teen Parent Program client. Staff attorney
Jenny Horne
was impressed with this young woman’s drive and hired her as a summer intern. Mercedes movingly told her story at the And Justice For All Legal Aid Luncheon least year, leaving the audience awed at this young woman and all she has accomplished. This March, Mercedes was inducted into the San Mateo County Women’s Hall of Fame as a Young Woman of Excellence for her commitment to helping others. Mercedes tutors younger children after school and balances school and motherhood gracefully, only four years after coming here from
Mexico
. We congratulate Mercedes on this honor and wish her well in future endeavors.
I was a corporate trainer, I had benefits, took care of my family, and everything was great. Then I began to have problems walking. Eventually I was laid off. COBRA cost over $800 a month and after a few months I could no longer afford to pay. I had a knee replacement while I still was on COBRA, but that didn’t take care of the problem. Now the pain was higher, around my hips and my back. After the knee replacement I stopped paying COBRA and tried to take another job but I couldn’t move quickly. I couldn’t bend down to the lower file drawers, so I agreed with the employer that I would leave.
My husband has been disabled his whole life. We have 6 children and I was the main breadwinner. After he passed away, my sister, a nurse here in the Bay Area, offered to have me come stay with her so I wouldn’t have to worry about rent and groceries. So that’s what I had to do; we didn’t have a lot of options.
When I arrived I tried to get Social Security and county help numerous times, but was rejected. I didn’t ask for food stamps because my sister was helping me. All I really was asking for was some medical help. A very good friend took me to an orthopedic surgeon and paid for the X-Rays so we could find out what was going on. The surgeon told me I have severe arthritis and needed two new hips. I didn’t know what to do next. I got turned down for every kind of help I applied for, which was quite frustrating. People couldn’t believe I was turned down because I’ve been a tax-paying, income-producing contributor and you feel like you’ve done something wrong. They never tell you why you were rejected so you feel totally ineffective.
I was here at my sister’s for more than a year and not able to get anywhere. It was hard for me to plead my own case. If it were one of my kids I’d be there, but since it was for myself, I questioned whether I deserved it. I was depressed going through all that. I finally began receiving medical treatment through the
county
ACE
program, but they would not schedule me for the hip replacement surgery that my doctor told me I needed to stop my medical condition from deteriorating even further. My sister worked with a nurse who suggested that I call Legal Aid. My first thought was that I wouldn’t be eligible since I’m a middle class white woman. But I called. My Legal Aid attorney filed an expedited grievance, and my surgery was scheduled right away. I also happened to find a doctor who cared. The doctor worked with my attorney to write a letter explaining my medical disability, and within two weeks I had Social Security and Medi-Cal benefits.
I have now had my surgery and I’m recovering very well. The pain is so much less, and I’m looking forward to returning to work in the future. I can hardly wait to help other people again.
LEGAL AID HELPS SUPPORT BILL TO CAP INTEREST RATES ON CONSUMER CREDIT
Legal Aid and more than 100 other groups joined a coalition in support of the FAIR bill, introduced by Congresswoman Speier in the House and Senator Durbin in the Senate,to help protect consumers from lending abuse. The bill caps interest rates for consumer credit at 36% annually and would stop lenders from charging exorbitant rates that lead consumers deep into debt. According to the coalition's letter, payday loans cost 400 percent APR or higher; car title loans cost 300 percent APR and put car ownership at risk; loans secured by expected tax refunds cost 50 to 500 percent APR; and credit card fees and interest can combine to produce triple-digit rates. To read more about the bill please visit: www.consumerlaw.org/issues/legislative/content/SpeierHR1608.pdf
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SENIOR SSI SAVED DESPITE MISLEADING COLLECTION NOTICES
Ann, a senior, has been unable to work due to a disabling spinal condition. She was surprised to receive notices from the U.S. Department of Education saying they were going to offset her Social Security payments to repay student loan debt. Not only did Ann not take out student loans, but her only income is about $900 a month in Supplemental Security Income (SSI). The loans date back to 1980 and Ann had no idea who could have stolen her identity—proving identity theft would have been nearly impossible.
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After getting nowhere with the debt collectors, Ann was scared and called Legal Aid. She met with Legal Aid attorney Amanda Barden and found out that SSI payments are exempt from offset. Barden says, “Even though SSI cannot be offset to repay student loan debt, seniors receive misleading letters from the Department of Education and loan collectors that suggest otherwise. It’s nice to be able to put client’s minds at ease and, in this case, protect government benefits for someone who has no other source of income.” As extra protection against potential collection in the future, Barden walked Ann through the process of applying for loan discharge based on total and permanent disability. Her application was recently approved. Ann is incredibly relieved to not be responsible for this $10,000 in debt and to know that her SSI payments are protected.
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PRO BONO VOLUNTEER TO RECEIVE LAAC AWARD OF MERIT
Tim Wright has volunteered in one way or another with the Legal Aid Society of San Mateo County for over 30 years. This year his work was recognized by the Legal Aid Association of California, who will present him with one of their distinguished Awards of Merit.
Tim has worn many hats at Legal Aid. He currently serves on the Legal Aid Advisory Committee and mentors pro bono volunteers who take Legal Aid domestic violence cases. Tim started out serving on the fundraising committees and then served on the Legal Aid Board of Directors and as President of Legal Aid in 1981-82. Legal Aid thanks Tim for his dedication and time and congratulates him on his recognition by the Legal Aid Association of California.
PRO BONO HONOREES: KIRKLAND & ELLIS
This month we are honoring the attorneys at Kirkland & Ellis's Palo Alto office who have enthusiastically taken cases pro bono from Legal Aid.
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