|
|
|
|
| Law Services News - March, 2005 Message from the Executive Director One of my greatest satisfactions as Executive Director of Law Services is that every day I hear from one staff member or another about some small miracle that she or he has accomplished on behalf of a client. And while the reports I write for our various funding sources may be replete with impressive statistics, it is the sharing of these individual triumphs that make my job truly rewarding. In the coming issues of this newsletter, I hope to share a few of these stories with you, to give you a more intimate picture of what we do at Law Services. Ms. D. is a widow who suffers from severe and persistent mental illness. After her husband’s death, she pursued an insurance claim in federal court. The court awarded her approximately $50,000, but a guardian was appointed to control the money, due to Ms. D’s inability to manage the funds herself. Ms. D. was able to obtain appropriate supported housing through one of the supported housing agencies, but then the widow and the agency found themselves between a rock and a hard place. Ms. D. was ineligible for SSI because the insurance proceeds constituted an asset, but the guardian refused to release any of the money. Ms D. was left with no income, and the housing agency’s rent was not being paid. The agency reluctantly concluded that they would have to evict Ms. D., but before they took steps to do so, they fortunately decided to ask Law Services if we could help. That’s when Barbara Liese from our Mental Health Law Project stepped into the breach. She first attempted to get the guardian to take the appropriate steps to create a supplemental needs trust, which could be utilized to meet some of Ms. D.’s needs but would not make her ineligible for SSI. When the guardian refused, Barbara brought an Order to Show Cause in federal court. The judge ordered the removal of the uncooperative guardian, and ordered the creation of a trust exactly as Barbara had requested, supervised by a not-for-profit agency. The end result was that the client was able to get SSI, pay her rent and remain in her housing. Without Barbara’s help, Ms. D. would have been left without income and homeless. Crises such as this can send a person with mental illness into a tail-spin, and ultimately result in decompensation serious enough to require hospitalization, or worse. That is why our Mental Health Law Project, which specializes in legal problems specific to Long Islanders suffering from Mental Illness, is so important. While we are hopeful that the New York State Office of Mental Health will continue to fund the Project, I regret to say that the fate of the grant and of the Project itself beyond June 2005 is uncertain at this time. I hope that I will be able to relate good news on that score in our next issue.
Fighting for SurvivalA hallmark of any free society is that all of its members enjoy equal access to justice through the legal system. Equal access to justice, however, requires high quality legal advice and representation. On Long Island, since 1966, Nassau/Suffolk Law Services Committee, Inc. (NSLS) has been and continues to be the only agency which provides free legal assistance to poor and disadvantaged residents on a wide range of civil legal matters, focusing especially on issues critical to survival and quality of life, such as housing and homelessness, domestic violence, access to medical care and public benefits. Our goal has always been to provide quality legal assistance to low income individuals and to help ensure that they are afforded the full protection and benefits of the law. Over the years we have helped the poor in matters concerning the elderly, disabled, mental health, housing, victims of abuse and children. We are a resource not only for the poor and disadvantaged, but for the many social service agencies which assist them, and we are recognized as a unique and critical piece in the matrix of agencies serving low income Long Islanders. Some of the litigation brought by our attorneys has had an enormous positive impact on Long Island’s poor community (e.g. the Sharp, Holmes and Golding lawsuits challenging the low shelter allowances provided to welfare recipients, which have enabled thousands of families to avoid or leave homelessness for permanent housing which they can afford.) Initially funded exclusively with federal dollars through the Legal Services Corp., NSLS greatly expanded its ability to serve the disadvantaged populations on Long Island by developing a “unit” structure (such as seniors, victims of domestic violence, persons with mental illness and persons who are HIV+) or specific problem areas (such as SSI advocacy, homelessness and housing) and by seeking funding from various federal, state and local agencies to support them. Private donations have also provided a small but important portion of our resources. Unlike the Legal Aid Society, which the counties must fund in order to provide constitutionally-mandated legal representation to criminal defendants, NSLS provides assistance in civil matters for which clients have no constitutional right to representation. Without adequate funding for NSLS, many clients will be left to negotiate the halls of justice alone. In recent months, NSLS has suffered a series of significant set-backs in the form of loss of several funding streams, and significant decreases in several others. This is not unusual for a non-profit in this era of funding cuts, but when the “perfect storm” of funding cuts and expenses like health insurance premiums increase, the effects are particularly devastating. Our TANF dollars, which funded staff handling eviction prevention and SSI advocacy, were eliminated by the governor’s budget veto of the budget. Another problem has been the failure of program funding to keep pace with rising costs. For example, Our Child Support grant from Nassau County has not received a cost of living adjustment in 5 years. We no longer have funds to supplement the Suffolk County domestic violence unit to keep it fully staffed and cannot sustain current staffing levels in either to two units. The Office of Mental Health has renewed our funding for the entire Mental Health Law Project for only six months, with the future of the Project beyond June 30, 2005 uncertain. As a result, NSLS has been forced to reduce the number of staff serving clients, in part by attrition but most recently with the issuance of lay-off notices. The Board of Directors, management and the two staff unions are working together to try to implement cost savings, and we expect that by March 10, 2005, the NSLS budget will be balanced. There is no escaping the fact that, for the time being, NSLS will be a smaller program, but it will remain strong, and as committed as ever to providing quality legal services to the poor. We will be developing a plan of action to develop new funding sources to enable us to restore the positions which have been cut. What can you do to help? Help us get the message out. We welcome tax-deductible donations and we also welcome individuals willing to volunteer their time in the office. For further information about what you can do, contact Cathy Lucidi 631 232-2400 x3324 or Beth Wickey x 3366. Computer Associates Partners with Law Services: Pro Bono Lawyers to Assist ClientsWe are pleased to announce that Computer Associates has created an in-house Pro Bono program that will help Law Services by providing free legal assistance to our clients. The in-house legal team of more than 50 attorneys, paralegals and staff will provide free legal help for people facing issues ranging from supplemental needs trusts, guardianships, wills, bankruptcy and other legal issues. Bonnie Yeomans, Vice-president and assistant general counsel who helped set up this program, said that Computer Associates employees will not be paid extra for the pro bono work but will seek to integrate the work into their regular schedules. This will allow the CA legal team to make important contributions to the community. Although, the program is on a voluntary basis, she is anticipating each participant will spend at least 20 hours or more a year on this pro bono work. Miriam Pismeny from the Pro Bono Project at Nassau Suffolk Law Services Committee has been working with Computer Associates to set up the program and invigorate the staff at Computer Associates. We look forward to this new working relationship with Computer Associates on behalf of all our clients. We thank them for their help in providing equal justice to all. Disabled Man Gains Reprieve from Child SupportThe Adult Home Project was recently successful in vacating two child support arrears judgments for a profoundly disabled 48-year old man, who was living in adult homes for approximately four years and all of his children were over the age of 21. The client had been hospitalized for psychiatric reasons approximately once or twice a year since he was 20 years old. He last worked in 1984 and began receiving Social Security Disability (SSD) in 1985. There were two child support arrears judgments entered against him by the Suffolk County Department of Social Services (SCDSS) in 1985, despite the fact that no guardian had ever been appointed for him and he had already been hospitalized several times due to his mental illness. He was hospitalized for 30 days approximately a month before the judgments were entered. For some reason, Social Security had never attempted to garnish his benefits up until about six months ago, when his mother and sister, who are in charge of his financial affairs, were first notified. After his sister attempted to handle the case pro se, the Adult Home Project appeared for the client and made a motion to vacate the arrears judgment on the grounds that no guardian had been appointed and he was an individual who at the very least “may” have been incapable of defending his rights at the time the judgment was entered. The Court agreed to delay collection of the child support pending a determination on the motion to vacate. Law Services’ staff attorney, Carolyn McQuade, also argued that client’s arrears should be capped at $500 for the periods of time during which he earned less than the poverty level. The Department of Social Services agreed to vacate both judgments, which amounted to $7,000, in addition to the approximately $15,000 of unsecured arrears (arrears that were never part of the judgment). The issue of child support obligations payable by certified disabled individuals is a recurring problem which is difficult to rectify (See Nov. 2003, “Child Support Arrears, Forte v. Forte). In a climate of zealous child support collections, the courts are often unsympathetic to the plight of noncustodial parents owing support, even if they are disabled and on a fixed income. In the present case, SCDSS fortunately agreed to acknowledge the difficulties this client would face if his Social Security were to be garnished to pay support (the law permits 65% to be garnished from SSD for child support arrears often leaving disabled clients legally far below the poverty level!) These cases require hours of painstaking work to convince the courts of the hardship and inequity in sustaining child support orders when the client is unable to work. What makes the issue even more frustrating is that there are no free lawyers available to represent on these complicated cases unless the clients are served by specialized units like the Adult Home Project or Mental Health Law Project. This is a problem area where disabled clients are often left to fend for themselves. Good News—Tax Intercept is LimitedA new bill was signed by Governor Pataki in November of this year which is very good news for all former public assistance recipients. The bill would limit the amount of a tax refund offset to 10% in order to collect on a non-fraud public assistance overpayment as long as the person was eligible for the earned income tax credit.(EITC). Prior to the bill being signed, the tax law authorized the interception of the entire tax refund, including the EITC. A pending legal challenge based on statutory and due process grounds had temporarily put a stop to the offset process. Currently, these cases are very close to a settlement and there is optimism that the settlement will result in a fairer process, however, it will not prohibit offsets altogether. The new bill affords greater protections from tax refund collections for low income workers. A Tenant’s Right to Repair and DeductIt is every tenant’s right to have a livable, safe and sanitary apartment. When conditions in a rental are a problem, it is important to notify the landlord and ask that the repairs be done. It is good idea to mail this request “return receipt requested” and, of course keep a copy of the request for your records. If the landlord refuses to fix the problem or fails to respond, there are steps that can be taken. One possible course of action is for the tenant to make the repairs himself and take the amount out of the next month’s rent. This is called repair and deduct. It is a good idea to get written estimates before making repairs and to write to the landlord about plans to make the repairs if he does not respond to the problem. Sometimes when the landlord realizes that part of the rent was spent on repairs, he may try to evict the tenant for nonpayment. For this reason it is important to keep all records of communications, estimates, receipts, etc. In emergencies, it may be necessary to make repairs and deduct the repair costs from the rent if the landlord will not respond. For example, if the landlord has been notified that the door lock is broken and does not repair it, the tenant may choose to hire a locksmith and deduct the cost from the rent. It is very important to save all receipts for the repair. Another way to get the landlord to make repairs is to refuse to pay rent until he fixes the problem. This is called rent withholding. Rent withholding is a serious step to take. It should only be done if there are serious health or safety problems in the home. A consultation with a lawyer before withholding the rent is recommended. The landlord may proceed with an eviction if the rent is not paid. Before withholding rent, or doing a “repair and deduct,” it is important that the landlord be notified in writing and that he is given a chance to fix it. Contact the Town’s Building Inspection (also called a Code Enforcement Inspector), the Fire Marshall or the County’s Department of Health (for things like no heat, cesspool backup, and lead paint issues) to look at the problem. Remember, the landlord may try to evict the tenant if rent is withheld. The tenant must be prepared to go to court and prove that the home has serious problems and the landlord will not fix them. The following tips are important to remember: 1. Talk to a lawyer to see if the problem is serious enough to withhold rent. Find out if you have done everything you need to, such as writing letters to the landlord and telling him about the problem. 2. Write a letter to the landlord saying that you are going to withhold the rent and why. Keep a copy of the letter. 3. Do not spend the rent money. A lawyer (if you have one) can put the money in a special bank account called an es crow account. If you do not have a lawyer, get a money order or bank check for the amount of the rent. Send a copy of it to the landlord to show that you have the rent, but are not going to give it to him until the repairs are made. But, DO NOT SPEND THE RENT MONEY. Take photographs of the problems that can be photographed. 4. Your landlord may make the repairs if you withhold the rent. Or he may take you to court to try to evict you for not paying the rent. 5. If your landlord takes you to court be ready to show
the judge that: Bring to court copies of the letters you sent to your landlord, inspector’s reports, pictures, witnesses to prove your side of the story and the rent money. The judge will decide if the problem was serious enough to withhold the rent. The judge may say that you do not owe all the rent money because your home had some serious problems. David Project Christmas Party a Huge SuccessThe annual David Project Christmas party was held on December 20, 2004 for the clients and families of the unit. The party, which was held in our Islandia office, consisted of food, music, candy canes, and gifts. Everyone who attended the party was showered with toys and teddy bears, donated by Toys for Tots. The older children who attended were given the best surprise of all when Santa Claus a/k/a Bill Bode brought them CD players and Walmart gift cards with money donated by the law firm of Torre, Lentz, Gamell, Gary, and Rittmaster, LLP. Without the generous donation of $950 given by the firm and its employees the party would not have been such a great success. Special thanks goes out to everyone who participated in the planning of the party. AND THE GENEROSITY CONTINUES TO OVERWHELM... Our gratitude to Suffolk DSS and County Executive Steve Levy’s Office for delivering vans of donated toys for our clients. For many of these children, this would be the only gift they received over the holidays. Thanks for bringing some holiday cheer to many families. Columbia Study of Sanctioned PA RecipientsThe Columbia School of Social Work is conducting a study of public assistance recipients who have been sanctioned by the Department of Social Services and their experiences with the fair hearing system. Any past or present recipient of public assistance in Suffolk County who received a sanction notice, whether or not a fair hearing was requested, is eligible to participate. Those who participate in a confidential interview with the Columbia students in this study will receive a $25 stipend for their participation to offset any costs involved in the study. The stipend will not be counted for public assistance purposes. For more information please call (631) 244-6044. The Columbia School of Social Work is conducting a study of public assistance recipients who have been sanctioned by the Department of Social Services and their experiences with the fair hearing system. Any past or present recipient of public assistance in Suffolk County who received a sanction notice, whether or not a fair hearing was requested, is eligible to participate. Those who participate in a confidential interview with the Columbia students in this study will receive a $25 stipend for their participation to offset any costs involved in the study. The stipend will not be counted for public assistance purposes. For more information please call (631) 244-6044. Advocates for the Homeless Should Know… 2004 Donors. Many Thanks to Our Friends!Advocates for Justice Sponsors of Justice Friends of Justice Our Sincere Gratitude for the Support Provided by... Robert D. Gallo, Esq. Brian and Susan Sadauskas Another Successful ProbonothonFor the second time the annual Probonothon in support
of the Volunteer Lawyers Project was held at Domus, the Nassau Bar Association.
Whether it was this venue, the gratefully received $10,000 matching grant
from the We Care Fund, or a new format that made recording the calls
easier for phoners and follow-up easier for the staff, the results set
a record. By mid-January checks totaling $45,000 had come in, with more
on the way. The We Care matching grant, which has been offered for several
years, will add to the final total. Once again the money raised will
go primarily to administer the crucial Landlord/Tenant Attorney of the
Day Project. Written by Rhoda Selvin Volunteer Attorneys Recognized for Their WorkSuffolk's Recipient Edward Zinker, Pro Bono Attorney of the Month for April 2004, has completed 81 cases in 171 hours work on the Pro Bono Project’s bi-monthly Bankruptcy Clinic. For his excellent work he was previously named Pro Bono Attorney of the Month six years ago. Zinker finds much satisfaction in his PBP work: “I wouldn’t stop even if I wasn’t recognized,” he declared. “It’s a means of fulfilling a civic service to people who need assistance and do not have the wherewithal to retain private counsel.” Zinker earned his L.L.B. at Brooklyn Law School in 1965, having enrolled in law school after completing his junior year at Brooklyn College. He then went back to college and completed his B.A. in 1967. Since being admitted to practice in the New York State Second Department in 1966, he has always practiced bankruptcy law. In 1977, after several years of working for other law firms, he opened the firm of Holland & Zinker, Esqs. in Smithtown. The firm has continued under different names over the years and is now–since April 1, 2004–called Zinker & Herzberg, LLP. A member of the Suffolk County Bar Association, Zinker chairs its Bankruptcy Committee and frequently participates in bankruptcy programs offered by the Suffolk Academy of Law. Several times in the past he has been a panelist at the Equitable Distribution and Matrimonial Tax Seminar conducted by Law Journal Seminars Press, Inc. Nassau’s Recipient Scott R. Schneider, Pro Bono Attorney of the Month for June 2004, anticipates being a member of the Volunteer Lawyers Project for the rest of his professional life. That he has closed 51 VLP cases, totaling 169 hours, since 1995 and has three more cases open indicates just how rewarding he finds this work. At first his main contribution as a volunteer attorney was to participate in the Landlord/Tenant Attorney of the Day project. More recently he has concentrated on bankruptcy cases. “It is very important to give back to the community,” he wrote VLP, “especially to help those in financial distress who are being demoralized by collection companies and concerned how they can ever make ends meet with the weight of their debt hanging over their heads.” Explaining the satisfaction he derives after representing these people through bankruptcy proceedings, he continued, “They are given a fresh start and you can see there is hope in their eyes, the struggling is gone. This is what makes me come back to volunteer for more cases.” Schneider received his J.D. from St. John’s University School of Law in 1990, after graduating from Long Island University, C.W. Post campus with a degree in accountancy in 1987. While in law school he held two internships, the first in the New York State Attorney General’s Office and the second in the Appellate Division, Second Department. After graduation he was associated with two law firms before starting his own practice, focusing on bankruptcy matters, in January 2000. A member of Nassau County Bar Association, the Suffolk County Bar Association, and the New York State Bar Association, he has lectured on behalf of the Coalition for Consumer Bankruptcy Debtor Education Program run by New York Law School. His chief volunteer activity outside of the profession is coaching for the Northport Youth Center Soccer League in the Spring and the Fall. Congratulations to the following staff celebrating their milestone employment anniversariesStaff Member - Years of Dedicated Services |
Archives |
|
About
NSLS | Contact NSLS | Self-Help
and Info | Newsletter
| Legal Services
Job Opportunities | Legal Links | Donations | Home Unless otherwise attributed all materials on this site © 1999-2008 Nassau/Suffolk Law Services Committe, Inc |
