Tennessee Floods: Updating the Help Options

It’s been two weeks now since the floods came, and the need for help is still strong. I wanted to quickly update the legal community about the resources that are currently available for you to refer people to.

First off, the five community centers closed on Friday as FEMA has stepped in to help. There are centers being set up all over TN, including a few mobile ones. Here is the current list. As of now they have not asked for volunteers in the legal community to join them, but we will know soon if and when that will happen.

Also, the TBA has issued a press release that gives you all the information about about the Hot-line they have set up for victims to call with legal questions. This number is 1-888-395-9297. This number is staffed M-F from 9 am to 5 pm. After that, there is a voice-mail that victims can leave messages in. If you have victims coming to you for help with legal issues resulting from the flood, feel free to redirect them there.

If you’re interested in volunteering to help victims who call in from the Hot-Line or any clinics that might be set up, you can sign up here with TALS or contacting me directly here. We are also going to need people for long term help, and would also love continued help in the community in general for people who need legal help and can’t afford it.

But what about people who need help with basic needs like food and water? Glad you asked! The two major resources to refer victims to are:

United Way: Dial 2-1-1 from any phone.

The United Way is a great referral service for people who need multiple resources, and will direct people to different programs that will suit their individual needs for food, water, etc. Also, anyone who wants to volunteer with helping the victims in a non-legal was can call for information on multiple projects, including Hands on Nashville.

Red Cross: 1-866-438-4636

The Red Cross has set up this Hot-line for victims who are in need of basic needs. By calling the number, a case worker will evaluate the victim’s needs including food, shelter, linens, and even basic furniture.

Also, any victim who needs help with food stamps or cash assistance has a limited time offer from DHS for help. The deadline for reimbursement food stamps and cash assistance is extended until May 28th in the following counties: Cheatham, Davidson, Dickson, Dyer, Gibson, Haywood, Hickman, Humphreys, Madison, Montgomery, Perry, Shelby, Sumner, and Tipton counties. For further details, see the Press Release.

The Dodson Parker Blog is still up and running and has a plethora of resources that have been announced all over town, so if you’re looking for a specific kind of resource for a victim you might be trying to help out, I highly recommend going there as well.

And finally, thank you EVERYONE who has helped out in the last few weeks. Remember that We Are Nashville and we take care of our own. The efforts this community has shown in helping each other out has made me very proud to call this town home. So thank you, Thank You, THANK YOU!

As always,
*~ Alison ~*

Legal Help for Flood Victims

With the historic floods in Nashville, right now their legal problems are the least thing on their mind, even the problems that are a result from the floods themselves.

However, we want to reach out and make sure that people are aware that there is help for them, and I’m going to list what I can here as we become aware of it.

FLOOD INFORMATION CENTERS

These locations are open everyday from 10am to 6pm to provide information for flood victims. Victims can just walk on in if they want some advice on help.

Bellevue Community Center; 656 Colice Jeanne Road, Nashville
Coleman Community Center; 384 Thompson Lane at Nolensville Road, Nashville
Hadley Park Community Center; 1037 28th Avenue North, Nashville
Hermitage Community Center; 3720 James Kay Lane, Hermitage
East Community Center; 700 Woodland Street, Nashville

If you are an attorney who wants to volunteer to staff one of these centers, contact Sarah Hayman at the Tennessee Bar Association to sign up. The first hour you are at the center will involve training so don’t worry if you think you may not know how to help on these specific issues!

Also, while the Legal Aid Society’s clinic today in Williamson Co. is canceled, we will still have our normal legal clinic on Tuesday the 11th for all legal problems. We are also adding a special clinic for Flood Victims on Flood Related Questions ONLY on May 12th at 5pm. They are both at our office on 300 Deaderick Street and are walk in clinics so no appointment necessary.

If you are an attorney who wants to volunteer to help with the flood clinic, please e-mail me (Alison) and I’ll get you on our list. We will have training materials available for all volunteers to be able to refer to.

In addition, some of the younger attorneys over at Dodson, Parker, Behm & Capparella, PC have set up a very helpful blog of legal questions that flood victims should think about and some easy answers to start guiding victims on the right path. Please take a moment to check it out: http://nashvillefloodhelp.blogspot.com/

Finally, please be aware that the United Way is ready and available to help any flood victim who might be in need. They will be up to date on all programs going on to provide assistance, food, and supplies and they are a great resource to pass along to victims looking for non-legal help that come your way. It’s just a single phone call away and they are open 24 hours a day. Just dial 2-1-1 from any phone.

Thank you in advance for any help you are able to offer, and feel free to share, link, retweet, and send out so the word of these centers can spread to the people who need them. E-mail me if you have any questions.

The 1st Quarter Results are in!

So I love to share good news, and today I have a lot of it and it’s all because of you. I’ve finally tallied up all the attorney hours that were reported on case update forms we received from January 1st to April 15th, and here are some great numbers to look at:

Hours Attorneys have volunteered (Jan-Apr 15th – non clinic): 1504.65
Hours volunteered to help at clinics (Jan – March 30th): 230.5
Total hours given in the 1st quarter: 1735.15

Now mind you, this is just what has been reported to us. I know there are more hours out there that we don’t have since on my open case reports I see a lot of 0′s still on some cases. It’s very important that you let us know your hours as you go along so that we can get them reported accurately to the CLE during the year.

Speaking of which, you should see the hours you reported show up sometime in May on your CLE records. Thank you again so much for all the time you’ve given!

Now, even better news! According to the report, I have 136 new attorney names on this list. These are both brand spankin’ new attorneys joining us as well as previous volunteers returning after not taking on a case in 2009. So to those people – you should know who you are – Thank you!

Now here’s a sneak peek at our summer projects I have planned:

Goodbye 2009, Hello 2010!

I think it’s safe to say we’ve had a very successful year. How successful, you ask? Well, let’s play a numbers game and compare 2008 to 2009, shall we?

Cases placed/saw at clinic in 2008: 1083
Cases placed/saw at clinic in 2009: 1668

So that means 585 additional cases were seen last year. That’s nearly a 50% increase!

Want to see attorney volunteer hours and the change there?

Hours reported for CLE credit in 2008: 5120
Hours reported for CLE credit in 2009: 7828

That means at least 2,708 more hours were spent on Pro Bono cases. That’s over a 50% increase in hours from last year, and I know there are more hours that have yet to be reported to us.

So, from the bottom of our hearts, THANK YOU. We could not have done this without your time and dedication.

Where do we go from here now… well, I want to beat it all in 2010! Call me an overachiever, but I know we can do better. I have over 1500 active volunteers, and if everyone just took ONE case, that would already near our goal without adding a single clinic case into the mix. And there are volunteers out there who take on 2-3 a year, and sometimes in one sitting.

So I’m stating my goals right now for everyone to see, and I am going to need your help on this. Here’s what I’m aiming for in 2010:

Cases placed/seen at clinic: 2000
Active Volunteers: 1700
Attorney CLE Hours Reported: 8000+

Who’s with me?! WE CAN DO THIS!

There are other projects in the works as well to help make 2010 a great year for Pro Bono, and this blog is going to be the place to turn to for the information. So please, subscribe to the feed and comment with suggestions or just to comment and say what you think about the topics we post on. And feel free to share the link with your associates – especially the new ones! – so they can find out how they can help out.

PS – It’s still not too late to get your case hours reported! If you have case update forms sitting on your desk, fill them out and fax/e-mail them to me ASAP and make sure you put down “Report for 2009!” on it so I get the message. Deadline is going to be January 22nd, and after that they might get mixed up with the 2010 hours. Remember it’s 5 billable hours for 1 CLE Ethics credit, with a limit up to 3 per year from us. Just another bonus besides the warm fuzzy feeling you get inside from helping out someone in need.

End of the Year Madness!

Wow, we are already wrapping up the end of the year, which is pretty amazing to think of all our accomplishments now looking back.

Here’s the biggest one: Between clinics and referrals, we have done 1,633 cases so far this year! Now compare that to the 1,082 we had last year and you can see why I’m excited. So thank you all SO much for everything that you’ve done!

However, the year isn’t over yet! Yes, I’m going to ask one last time for this year if you have time in your holiday schedule to take on a last minute case. I’m trying to get all our current clients an attorney for Christmashanakwanza! Right now I have 6 collection/tort type cases, 2 Davidson Co. divorce cases, 10 Williamson Co family law style cases, and an unemployment appeal case. If you have Pro Bono hours you still need to meet at your firm, this is the fastest way to get it!

If you would like more information on any of these cases (and if you’re in Williamson County, imagine me on my knees begging you) please give me a call or e-mail by Wednesday the 23rd. After that and until the New Year, you can still call the office and ask for Lucinda and she’ll find you one.

And finally, if you have NOT gotten your case update forms back to us, there is still time! The fax number is on the bottom of the form. Mark it to my attention and fax it in. This is the only way I know what hours you have done to be able to tell the CLE to get your ethics credits!!!

Happy Holidays to all of you, and wishing you all a happy and healthy New Year! See you again in 2010!

Training and CLE Opportunity – Divorce and Domestic Violence

There is going to be a training on Thursday, December 10th from 1pm to 4pm that will cover how to do a Pro Bono Divorce as well as discussing the topic of domestic violence. You can earn 3 hours towards general CLE credit.

This is a free training, and all we would ask would be for you to be added to our volunteer list for divorce cases in Davidson County.

If you are interested or have any questions, please e-mail me for further information.

Thanks!

CLE Opportunities Reminder

Just wanted to remind everyone that it is not too late to earn some CLE credit! We are still open through the holidays, looking to find attorneys to help out our clients. If you’re down on some CLE, or just want to spread some holiday cheer to the community, please reach out to us!

Also please be aware that we are having a clinic on Saturday, November 28th – the Saturday after Thanksgiving. So far we have invited 20 clients to the clinic, and more will be walking in, and only 4 attorneys have signed up to help out.

If you want to put in some holiday volunteering at the clinic for a few hours Saturday morning, please give Victoria a call or click the link on the left to e-mail her. And yes, you can earn hours for CLE credit at the clinic too!

Thank you!

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

So as I sit on the verge of opening the 1,500th case of this year, I wanted to write quickly and thank each and every volunteer who has helped our program out by taking on a case, coming to a clinic, or donated time and/or money to the Nashville Pro Bono program. It truly is because of volunteers such as yourself that we are able to continue to provide this vital service to the people in town who would have no where else to turn to.

In honor of giving thanks this holiday season, I wanted to share a few words from our clients. When we close out a case, we always send a survey out to clients to ask them to tell us about their experience with the Program. When we get them back, sometimes they contain very simple answers. Sometimes, however, we get clients who fill the entire page with comments. Here are a few:

Mr. (Philip) Kendrick was the best lawyer we could have asked for. He helped my husband until his death then helped me get my benefits. I wouldn’t have known what to do without his help…
Widow of J.R. on a Social Security case

…Mr. (Avery) Mott was professional, non judgmental, listened and [was] understanding… he made me feel important…
R.N. on a Bankruptcy case

He (Matt Moushon) was wonderful. He was very professional and really cared about me and my case. He treated me like I was paying him $250 an hour!!
A.M. on a Wage Claim case

Excellent! He (Joseph Rusnak) explained everything he was doing, what would happen, always available to answer my questions, made me feel at home. With so much debt I didn’t know what to do. He gave me & my family peace of mind… Mr. Rusnak was perfect. He never looked down on me like most lawyers I talked with. He always made me feel welcomed…
B.T. on a Bankruptcy case

Once again, thank you all for everything that you have done so far this year. As we head into the holidays, there are still clients who are going to be looking for help. If you have some time you can fit in between the Thanksgiving turkey and the New Year’s champagne, please feel free to give me a call! You can give them a holiday gift that they will always be grateful for, and we can help gift you with some last minute CLE credit for 2009.

Wishing you and yours a very Happy Thanksgiving.

Meet the Staff: Victoria Webb

As written by Victoria Webb

Having just passed one of those milestone birthdays, I can admit that I am literally the “oldest” staff person at the Nashville Pro Bono Program! So, a little history is in order. (And I prefer not to write about myself in third person!)

I started with the Program in the summer of 1986 as assistant to the Nashville Pro Bono/Lawyer Referral Service Coordinator. In those days, the Program was housed in the Nashville Bar Association’s office. I was there when the NBA staff consisted of a law librarian, an office assistant and the two-person Nashville Pro Bono staff.

The NBA soon hired an executive director for the first time, Allan Ramsaur (now director of the TBA), who set about growing, developing and branding the NBA and the Nashville Pro Bono Program. When the Program’s coordinator moved on, I enthusiastically applied for the job and Allan hired me. We soon found ourselves involved in negotiating with the Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee on a joint venture/merger agreement. I’ve always said that process was like a shotgun wedding that’s made a great marriage!

I moved to a corner office on the 8th floor of the wonderful Stahlman Building (the NBA offices at that time were on the 3rd floor) and began working with colleagues who were absolutely devoted to helping low-income people get equal justice. Legal Aid staff welcomed our help and I was in heaven. Staff assigned to the Nashville Pro Bono Program grew and the number of attorneys signing up to help also grew astronomically. The key was getting to work closely with some saintly, impeccable titans of the legal community like Charlie Warfield and Ashley Wiltshire. When we moved to the Legal Aid offices, the Program had about 350 active Nashville volunteer lawyers. (Today we have almost 1,200 active volunteer lawyers, in both Davidson and Williamson Counties, with a total of 1,460 signed up.)

As far as personal history, I’m one of the few native Nashvillians you might meet. However, in the second grade, I packed my little bags and moved to south Georgia with my mom and sister—after a short stay in Texas. Fast forward 10 years and I’m attending the University of Georgia and end up with a degree in Journalism (before they called it Mass Communications). I soon move back to Nashville after that degree and started to write for various small publications and to volunteer with local agencies such as the Southern Coalition on Jails & Prisons. There I helped provide outside coordination to an inmate organization at the Tennessee Prison for Women. I worked in a photography lab until I discovered the “lucrative” world of actually working for non-profit organizations. I began as a VISTA worker for a consumer advocacy group for the frail elderly called SAGA–the Social Action Group on Aging. Our daunting job was to reform nursing home care in Tennessee. I was even a registered lobbyist in the Tennessee General Assembly for a while. In both my prison and nursing home reform work, I became familiar with lawyers and what they could do to change people’s lives for the better.

That’s part of why working with the Nashville Pro Bono Program has been a perfect fit. The most amazing and thrilling part of my job is when I am able to successfully translate two different cultures to each other. When you put a welfare mom together with a corporate lawyer and they manage to take care of business, that’s bliss for me. Currently, I am assigned to coordinating the Program’s legal advice clinics which generate about 60% of the Program’s cases. The clinics are a great way for attorneys to get an introduction to pro bono work and do provide a valuable and innovative service to the Nashville community. I am a long-time member of the National Association of Pro Bono Professionals and currently serve on its Board of Directors. We recently held our annual Board meeting in Chicago at the ABA offices. I feel in this way I can return some of my long experience to the national pro bono community (and there is one!).

Outside of work, I like to run for exercise and listen to the wonderful live music that Nashville has to offer. I have been known to sing on stage at a local venue called the Springwater Supper Club & Lounge (once dubbed “Nashville’s best dive bar”). I live happily with my partner, Bill Flowerree (who is a songwriter and an American Red Cross worker) and our two tomcats, Nelson and Dylan. I meet monthly with a wonderful group of local women writers and hope to retire someday soon to write great, inspiring stories. Meanwhile, I just like to participate in a small way in making such stories happen.

Meet the Staff: Alison Richards

This week is the beginning of the three week series where we introduce the staff over at Nashville Pro Bono. And apparently I’ve been “volunteered” to go first. So here we go, and in third person to boot!

Alison Richards is a transplant from Yonkers, NY (20 minutes north of Manhattan), having moved to Nashville in June of 2008. Everyone asks why she would move out of NYC and it’s a simple answer: the people are so much nicer down here! Nashville is like a big city with a small town feel, and it has quickly become her home and she doesn’t plan on leaving anytime soon.

Before moving to Nashville, she had previously been working in Washington, D.C. for a year and a half at a wine importing company called Robert Katcher Selections, in which she was in charge of the liquor licenses and registrations across the country for 200+ products. It was in that position that Alison formed a relationship with three attorneys over at Bone McAllester: William Cheek, Chris Raybeck, and Tucker Herndon. That relationship would come in very handy when she moved to Nashville and needed references when she applied at Legal Aid. She still believes to this day that its their kind words that got her the job – along with the great office skills, of course!

In the past 16 months, Alison has worked to streamline the paperwork flow that comes in and out of the pro bono department, as well as getting more accurate information recorded on cases and attorney hours. She’s also increased the amount of cases placed by sending out e-mail blasts on a daily basis, and has yet to kill the LAS computer severs doing it.

Recent achievements include helping Lucinda and attorney Jessica Uitto organize the 4ALL Clinic Event back on April 4th, 2009, and the Celebrate Pro Bono Breakfast on October 27th, 2009. Already in the works for next year’s project is a massive update of all volunteer files in the system, and the goal of getting more personal relationships with the attorneys that are in town. She always is open to coffee meetings to say hello and meet the local attorneys in town – all you have to do is ask!

Outside of Legal Aid, Alison can also be found working in the local community theatres. In one year she has worked on 6 different productions doing technical work with lights and stage management, and occasionally choreographing a fight scene. She is a trained swordfighter with certificates of proficiency in both Broadsword and Small Sword from the Society of American Fight Directors (S.A.F.D).

And she is also an aspiring fiction writer. She is finishing up the edits on her first novel before starting to submit it for publication, and has very recently opened her own writing blog at alisonskydesigns.wordpress.com.

Alison works with her own sense of humor, always has music and candy in her office, and just works on enjoying her life and making each day count. Because of this, she is grateful to have a job where she feels that she makes a difference in people’s lives every day. It’s the best feeling in the world, and hearing clients thank you and every heavenly father in existence for her help makes it easy to look forward to the next day of work.