News

Legal Aid Receives $270,000 in Montgomery County Contracts--Pottstown Office will Remain Open

December 11th, 2012

Legal Aid was awarded contracts from the Montgomery County Commissioners to support Housing and Child Dependency work in Montgomery County that will enable it to keep the Pottstown office open, despite the loss of $281,000 in general operating funding from the county.
 
“Harvey Strauss, co-executive director of Legal Aid, said he was "very happy, very pleased, very grateful" for the contracts, which he said would enable Legal Aid to keep its Pottstown office open and to "continue to provide services that we're proud of."

In a press briefing following the meeting, Shapiro explained that Legal Aid had received the new contracts because situations in which the court is required to appoint outside counsel for indigent defendants would have been more expensive with a provider other than Legal Aid.

"Legal Aid was uniquely positioned to provide those services," Shapiro said, adding that the commissioners had consulted on the matter with several judges on the Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas following last week's budget hearings.”

Read the full article >

Co-Executive Director Liz Fritsch Featured in Technology Article on Slate.com

December 11th, 2012

While nothing will replace having enough funding and legal advocates in place to help our very vulnerable clients, Legal Aid is working to improve its central telephone intake unit through replacing it’s call center with a better system that should reduce wait times, give out better information when callers are waiting, and ultimately use text messaging as a way to remind people of appointments, documents to bring to court and reinforce safety messages for abuse victims and others.  Liz Fritsch was recently featured in a Slate.com article reviewing some of these strategies to improve services through enhanced technology.

Read the full article >

Representative Kate Harper Addresses Legal Aid Cuts

December 3rd, 2012

State Representative Kate Harper who represents Pennsylvania’s 61st District and also is a member of the Pennsylvania Legal Assistant Network (PLAN) Board of Directors commented in the Sunday Times Herald on the decision of the Montgomery County Commissioners to eliminate Legal Aid’s funding in their 2013 budget. She observes
 
“The Commissioners’ decision to eliminate the $281,700 allotted in last year’s budget is a serious challenge…It will mean that when people hanging onto a home by a thread call a legislative office for help, we can give them Legal Aid’s number, but we can’t be sure they will get the help they need by a smaller staff overtaxed to provide even more services.”

Legal Aid Slated to Lose $281,700 from Montgomery County

November 29th, 2012

Legal Aid is once again facing serious reductions in government funding, this time as part of the Montgomery County budget process which has eliminated all funding for “earmarks”, or direct grants to a number of Montgomery non-profits, many, like Legal Aid serving the most vulnerable and low-income citizens.  Legal Aid’s loss was the largest of all the agencies, and because it totals more than 20% of the local budget, will likely result in more staff lay-offs and the closure of the Pottstown office.  For more information on the budget plan, click here and here.

Harvey Strauss Testifies at Montgomery County Hearing

November 29th, 2012

Harvey Strauss today testified before the Montgomery County Commissioners about the harsh impact of the County budget cuts.  In his testimony he projected that 2-4 Legal Aid staff would be laid off, the Pottstown office closed, and 500 fewer Montgomery County residents would receive legal assistance as the result of these cuts.

To read the full testimony, click the title of this post above.

How to Get Replacement Food Stamps after a Flood or Power Outage

November 2nd, 2012

Our friends at Community Legal Services have shared this important information, which is especially timely as people in our area recover from Hurricane Sandy.  For more information, read the full article.

Sweet & Savory Ways to Support Legal Aid

August 27th, 2012

Equal Chocolate for All....

Thursday, October 4, 2012 from 5 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. the Delaware County Bar Association and the Legal Aid Board of Directors are teaming up to sponsor Sweeten the Pot: A Chocolate Event to Benefit Legal Aid of Southeastern Pennsylvania".  Held at the Bar Association, 335 W. Front Street in Media, Tickets cost $35 and include hors d'ouevres and 2 free drinks (yes, there will be Chocolate Martinis along with your beer and wine!).  Silent and Live Auctions with great gift certificates, vacation homes and gift baskets.

To purchase tickets, or to learn about becoming a sponsor (levels from Kisses to Truffles), contact Karen Newell at 610-566-6625, ext 222, or email karen@delcobar.com.

 

West Chester Chili Cookoff

Our friends at the Rotary Club of West Chester will be recognizing our work at their West Chester Rotary Chili Cookoff event on Sunday, October 14 in downtown West Chester.  Proceeds from this event support their Community Philanthropic Grants program. LASP was honored to be selected for a $3,000 grant this year to support our Chester County division.  For more information, go to www.westchesterchilicookoff.com

 

 

LASP Receives Pew Grant to Serve the Elderly

April 4th, 2012

From the Pew website: "The Pew Charitable Trusts announced today that it will provide $4,386,000 over the next three years to 31 Philadelphia-area organizations that serve the region’s elderly adults. The awards—provided through the Pew Fund for Health and Human Services—will help support individuals age 65 and older who are struggling to maintain their independence and well-being.

According to Frazierita Klasen, director of the Pew Fund, “The Philadelphia region is home to thousands of elderly who not only face economic hardship, but isolation, and health and mobility challenges that seriously compromise their quality of life. We are fortunate to have many strong organizations that are able to make a meaningful difference in the lives of these vulnerable seniors.”

The 31 agencies offer a range of services, helping low-income elderly to meet their basic needs;  offering counseling to alleviate the social isolation and depression that afflict so many of these individuals; delivering personal care and chore services; and providing respite for family members, such as adult day-care."

Among the organizations funded is Legal Aid of Southeastern Pennsylvania--we received a $126,000 3-year grant.

To read the full story, click here.

Have Fun and Support Legal Aid!

March 22nd, 2012

We have three FUNdraising events this spring and summer, all of which benefit the programs of Legal Aid.  More information can be found on the following websites:

Taste of West Chester (May 3, 2012): chescoparalegal.org
Trial Run (June 23, 2012): trialrun5k.com
Race Judicata (July 18, 2012): bucksracejudicata.com

LASP Attorney Suzanne Noble to Receive 2012 PLAN Excellence Award

January 24th, 2012

This spring, retiring Delaware County Legal Aid attorney Suzanne Noble will be awarded a Pennsylvania Legal Aid Network (PLAN) 2012 Excellence Award.

Suzanne has worked in legal services for 37 years.  Her illustrious career includes not only legal assistance for low income families and victims of domestic violence, but also years spent working in early childhood education, medical social work, and pastoral counseling.  During her time at LASP, Suzanne also became a great teacher of law students enrolled in the Villanova Law School legal aid clinical program.

While Suzanne is ready to move on to the next phase of her life, she retains her claim to a life lived excellently--she is already exploring hospice work and tutoring youth in Chester City, and is happy to have more time for painting and reading.

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