wednesday, June 19, 20195:00 – doors open • 6:00 – music begins

House of Blues Cleveland308 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland

Sponsorships, Tickets & Learn More: www.lasclev.org/2019Jam

“You have the right to an attorney” — everyone is familiar with the Miranda right thanks to television crime shows. Our constitution ensures access to no-cost legal counsel when someone is accused of a serious crime and cannot afford an attorney. Yet many do not realize there is no such constitutional right to legal counsel in housing cases — even if the cases lead to homelessness.

The stakes are extremely high in eviction cases. Standing before the judge, landlords are usually represented by counsel, and tenants almost always are not. There trials last five minutes. Most tenants lose. When tenants lose, their families and society often lose. An eviction can be devastating to a family’s overall well-being. A 2018 Boston Medical Center study found that unstable housing circumstances are associated with adverse health outcomes for caregivers and young children. Specifically, the strain of homelessness, multiple moves and even being behind on rent is linked with maternal depression, increased child hospitalizations, and poor overall health for both children and caregivers.

Legal Aid is working to invest in the community by providing tenants legal counsel through Legal Aid’s Housing Justice Alliance. The progression of the Housing Justice Alliance is divided into three parts:

Preliminary Phase (2018 – 2019): thanks to support from the Sisters of Charity Foundation’s Innovation Mission Fellowship, Legal Aid attorney Hazel Remesch led the research and planning for implementation. An advisory committee was created to include community, city, and bar leaders.

Phase 1 (2019 – 2022): Legal Aid will focus on providing enhanced legal assistance to residents facing eviction, increasing representation from 2% to 10% of eviction cases.

Evaluation of Phase 1 and support from City of Cleveland leaders will help launch Phase 2 by 2023. In Phase 2, the Program will grow so that all low-income Cleveland residents facing eviction will have the option of being represented by an attorney for their case.

Cleveland’s Housing Justice Alliance effort is the first of its kind in Ohio. Learn more about this innovative program at www.HousingJusticeAlliance.org

Poetic JusticeVolume 16 Issue 1 Spring 2019Stories of Philanthropy and Hope from The Legal Aid Society of Cleveland

Legal Aid’s Housing Justice Alliance

Some members of the Housing Justice Alliance advisory committee at a recent meeting:(top) Chris Patno Esq. – Cleveland Academy of Trial Attorneys; Ian Friedman, Esq. – Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association; Councilman Tony Brancatelli; Jennifer Heinert O’Leary, Esq. – Cleveland City Council; (bottom) Ken Surratt – Cuyahoga County; Abigail Staudt, Esq. – Legal Aid; Council President Kevin Kelley; Hazel Remesch, Esq. – Legal Aid; Steven Rys – Cleveland City Council (not pictured: Tom Mlakar, Esq. – Legal Aid Delores Gray – Community Member | Gladys Reed – Community Member)

“Housing loss is avoidable if legal counsel is available to tenants.

”– Delores GrayMember of the Housing Justice Alliance advisory committee

Legal Aid’s housing work in the past year was generously supported by designated grants from: First Federal of Lakewood, Ulmer & Berne, United Way, the Sisters of Charity, Saint Luke’s Renaissance Charitable, Nord Family, Murphy Family, Bruening, and Mt. Sinai Health Care Foundations.

The following people provided annual support to The Legal Aid Society of Cleveland for 15 years as of December 31, 2018.

A special reception to honor current and new members of Legal Aid’s 5-year, 10-year and 15-year Giving Societies will be held in Spring 2019.

Thanks to our reception sponsor Cleveland Reporting Partners for helping us recognize these important friends of Legal Aid.

In the meantime, we hold these people in high esteem. We publicly thank them for the consistent support – our work is not possible without their partnership.

David Goodman and Barbara Hawley Harry Haber Michael and Jane Horvitz William Huffman Lee and Candace Hutton Wilbur Leatherberry and Diane Phillips-Leatherberry Donald Levy Ivan Otto Charna Sherman Todd Smith Therese Sweeney Drake and James Drake Mark Wallach and Karla Bell David Weiner

Poetic JusticePage 2

Legal Aid and #ExtendJustice in the Community

Applause for Members of our 15-Year Giving Society

Legal Aid Attorney Profile: Dinola Phillips

Providing Access to Education for Children

Dinola Phillips, a graduate of Case Western Reserve University School of Law, joined Legal Aid last year to help lead Legal Aid’s Access to Education program – an effort to provide families with school-aged children the legal support to ensure students can stay in and be successful in school.

Attorney Phillips sees her Legal Aid career as an extension of her work with CWRU’s “Street Law” program where she provided legal information and resources to incarcerated youth. She used her expertise to educate young people about Miranda rights, responsibilities when talking to authorities, and other important legal topics to empower youth with information that can keep them out of the criminal justice system.

1 2

3

4 5

Poetic JusticePage 3

Carolyn ButlerCommunity Representativenominated by the American Sickle Cell Anemia Association

Leonard CastleCommunity Representativenominated by the Malachi Center

Jillian Charles, Esq.eaton Corporation

Quo Vadis Cobb, Esq.Rockwell Automation

Steven Dettelbach, Esq.BakerHostetler

Andre DowdyCommunity Representativenominated by the VA Medical Center

Philip S. Fastenau, Ph.D.University Hospitals

Stephen M. Fazio, Esq.Squire Patton Boggs

Nathan Genovese, Esq.Community Representativenominated by the Arc of Greater Cleveland

Karen L. Giffen, Esq. Giffen & Kaminski LLC

Delores GrayCommunity Representativenominated by Promise Neighborhood

Ronald V. Johnson, Esq.Key Bank National Association

Jonathan Leiken, Esq.Diebold Nixdorf

Rita Maimbourg, Esq.tucker ellis LLP

Hugh McKay, Esq.Porter Wright Morris & Arthur LLP

Edward W. Moore, Esq.RPM International, Inc.

Matthew Nakon, Esq.Wickens, Herzer, Panza, Cook & Batista

Gladys B. ReedCommunity Representativenominated by Cleveland Tenants Organization

Barbara Roman, Esq.Meyers, Roman, Friedberg & Lewis

Michael N. Ungar, Esq.Ulmer & Berne LLP

Brenda WellsCommunity Representativenominated by the American Sickle Cell Anemia Association

Board of Directors

AdmInIStrAtIon

Colleen M. Cotter, Esq. executive Director

Tom Mlakar, Esq.Deputy Director for Advocacy

Bettina KaplanDirector of Finance & Administrative Operations

Melanie A. Shakarian, Esq.Director of Development & Communications

newSletter StAff

Editor Melanie Shakarian, esq.

StaffAlexandra De LeónDanilo Powell-Lima erik Meinhardt

Administration &Newsletter Staff

Legal Aid Attorney Profile: Dinola Phillips

Providing Access to Education for Children

Today, Attorney Phillips focuses on setting-up children for success by removing the civil legal barriers that interfere with a child’s ability to succeed in school. The Access to Education program hosts free legal advice clinics at CMSD’s George Washington Carver School and the Boys & Girls Club of Cleveland. With Cleveland now a “Say Yes to Education” city, Legal Aid will continue to work to be where and when caregivers of school-aged children need legal help.

When asked why her work is important to her, Dinola said, “people don’t realize the stress students have in their lives. I have seen personally how kids haven’t had full opportunities because of civil issues. If families knew about and had access to support resources, their children would have greater chances to succeed in and out of school.”

Recently, Dinola received a referral from a community partner regarding a family with guardianship issues. Without a resolution to the issue, the school would dismiss the student. “Through our work, we were able to determine the status of guardianship for the child, explain the guardianship to the family, and provide the household with proper documentation to submit to the school,” Dinola explained. “The school accepted the documentation and the child was not removed from class.”

When families don’t have to worry about fundamental issues related to their housing, safety, benefits, and health, they can instead direct their energy toward ensuring that their child succeeds. With the skills and passion of attorneys like Ms. Phillips at Legal Aid, vulnerable families in Northeast Ohio have a capable ally.

Legal Aid’s Access to Education program is generously funded by the Callahan Foundation, Char and Chuck Fowler Family Foundation, Eaton Charitable Fund, Fox Foundation,Ginn Foundation, Thatcher Fund, and other generous individual donors.

6

7

8

9 10

1. Demo Solaru (Case Western Reserve University School of Law)

2. Attorneys from Vorys and other groups gather at the East Cleveland Public Library for a free legal advice clinic.

3. Barbara Roman, Esq. (Meyers Roman) with Susan Stauffer, Esq. (Legal Aid)

4. Alicia Graves, Esq.5. Kyle Hutnick, Esq. (Kohrman Jackson & Krantz)6. Carolyn Broering-Jacobs, Esq.

(Cleveland-Marshall College of Law)7. Mike Garvey, Esq. (ACT 2/Pearne & Gordon)8. From left: Do Yeon Kim (CWRU School of

Law), Evan Neidig (CWRU School of Law), Lillian Blageff, Esq. (Rockwell Automation), and Christina Pochemsaniy, Esq. study a case at the CPL Carnegie West Branch Library.

9. Members of the Norman S. Minor Bar Association volunteer at the CPL Union Branch Library.

10. Lisa Gold Scott, Esq.

A K R A M B O U T R O S THE METROHEALT H SYST E M

DAV I D P E R S E ST. V I N CEN T CHARITY M EDI CAL CEN TER

TO M Z E N T Y UNIVERSITY HOSPITALS

W E ’ R E W O R K I N G T O G E T H E R T O

E X T E N D J U S T I C E

We support The Campaign for Legal Aid and see it in action every day. Legal Aid lawyers now work inside each of our health care systems to help patients when civil legal issues threaten their health, safety and well-being.

“With Legal Aid’s help, I was able to get the counseling and medications I needed to maintain my mental health. I have been able to hold a job,

have friends, and enjoy my family.”

O N A V E R A G E 1 8 , 0 0 0 P E O P L E A R E I M P A C T E D A N N U A L L Y

T H R O U G H 7 , 7 0 0 C A S E S

J O I N U S , A N D L E T ’ S E X T E N D T H E R E A C H O F J U S T I C E E V E N F U R T H E R .

ExtendJustice.org #ExtendJustice

“Legal Aid helped my child be able to continue receiving Social Security benefits,

which greatly assists in his care.”

4 4 % O F A L L H O U S E H O L D S S E R V E D I N C L U D E D C H I L D R E N

S E A N R I C H A R D S O N HUNTINGTON BANK

PAT R I C I A R A M S E Y FIFTH THIRD BANK

M A R G OT CO P E L A N D KEYBANK FOUNDAT ION

W E ’ R E W O R K I N G T O G E T H E R T O

E X T E N D J U S T I C E

Legal Aid is collaborating with residents of Hough, Central,

Kinsman and Slavic Village to identify legal solutions that

break down barriers to community wealth and opportunity.

With access to justice, families have greater stability in the

face of threats to their quality of life or livelihoods.

We support The Campaign for Legal Aid as it brings new,

important initiatives to Northeast Ohio.

“Because of Legal Aid, I have a fresh start to build my credit.”

I N C R E A S E D A S S E T S A N D I N C O M E , A N D R E D U C E D D E B T , B Y $ 7 0 M I L L I O N F O R C L I E N T S O V E R T H E P A S T F I V E Y E A R S

“Legal Aid kept my family together and let me continue my education

to get my degree.”

M O R E T H A N 1 1 , 0 0 0 P E O P L E A N N U A L L Y I M P A C T E D B Y L E G A L A S S I S T A N C E T H A T R E M O V E D B A R R I E R S T O E M P L O Y M E N T

J O I N U S , A N D L E T ’ S E X T E N D T H E R E A C H O F J U S T I C E E V E N F U R T H E R .

ExtendJustice.org #ExtendJustice

wednesday, June 19, 20195:00 – doors open • 6:00 – music begins

House of Blues Cleveland308 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland

Sponsorships, Tickets & Learn More: www.lasclev.org/2019Jam

1223 West Sixth StreetCleveland, Ohio 44113

Non ProfitU.S. Postage

P A I DCleveland, OhioPermit No. 104

RetURN SeRvICe ReqUeSteD