May 2008

6 Reasons to Help: ATJ Success Stories

Rudi is an Eastern European immigrant who immigrated to the United States 12 years ago with his wife. He owned a small woodworking business which provided a very modest income. Rudi and his wife enrolled in the Basic Health Plan for low-income people and paid the premiums. Later, these benefits were cancelled because the couple was slightly over income. The very next month, Rudi's wife was diagnosed with an aggressive cancer and had surgery. Overnight, their medical bills topped $80,000 and they were ineligible for Medicaid. Rudi turned to a volunteer lawyer program for help. Legal advocates worked with the hospital to waive the medical bills through the Charity Care Program, and helped the couple qualify for Medicaid. Rudy's wife received the medical care she desperately needed without incurring a mountain of debt.

LAW (Legal Assistance for Whatcom) Advocates
Mary Swenson, executive director

After a prolonged period of unemployment, a King County family faced foreclosure and became the victims of a mortgage rescue scam. A group of "investors" offered to help by entering into a complicated sale-leaseback transaction that sold the home for pennies on the dollar. This deal purported to give the family the right to rent the property until their finances allowed them to buy back the home. In fact, the transaction was a thinly veiled refinance that bore a 29 percent interest rate and caused the family to forfeit the home and all of their equity. The Northwest Justice Project defended the family against the investors' efforts to remove them and successfully litigated to a settlement that recovered the family's equity after sale of the home.

The Northwest Justice Project
César Torres, executive director

John and his mother became homeless after his mother lost her job. A friend of the family offered to let them park their camper in the front yard. Because the friend's house was located within the boundaries of another school district, John's school refused to allow him to return. A federal law requires schools to let homeless children continue to attend their home school despite having transitional living arrangements. TeamChild worked with the district to readmit John and provide him with transportation to school. His mother recently found a new job, and John is now finishing the school year while he and his mother look for an apartment.

TeamChild
Anne Lee, executive director

Peter was born in Somalia and entered the United States in 1993 with his family after fleeing systematic ethnic cleansing. After a head injury resulted in permanent brain damage, Peter experienced some minor brushes with the law, including a traffic infraction. Peter was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement and brought to the Northwest Detention Center. An attorney from the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project met with Peter, realized that none of the convictions should have rendered him subject to removal, and filed a motion to terminate the proceedings against him. On the date of Peter's final removal hearing, six months after his original detention, the proceedings against Peter were terminated. Without an attorney to represent him, the improper removal proceedings would have gone unnoticed. Peter would have been deported and likely faced the same danger his family had fled from more than a decade earlier. Because of legal aid, Peter is safe and reunited with his family.

Northwest Immigrant Rights Project
Matt Adams, interim executive director

Dawn is disabled, lives on $603 per month, and was getting food stamps through a DSHS program called WASHCAP. One day, Dawn received notice that DSHS was reducing her food stamps. "What I didn't know was that I could get more food stamps if I wasn't in WASHCAP and the letter didn't tell me that," she said. "It wasn't until after I talked with Columbia Legal Services that I understood what had happened." Dawn and another person in the same situation, represented by Columbia Legal Services, filed a class action lawsuit as representative plaintiffs on behalf of about 40,000 people who were in WASHCAP. The lawsuit was successful and resulted in the ability for all in the class to decide whether to move to a different food program. Dawn moved to the alternate program and received $39 more per month in food stamps. This meant a lot to her: "Because of the class action lawsuit, I have more to spend on food now. It's still hard to get by, but because I get more food stamps, I can buy better food. I can buy fresh fruits and vegetables. I can buy meat and don't have to eat potatoes as often. And, I don't have to skip any meals now — I don't go hungry like I used to. I told my lawyer how grateful I was that there was someone who would help people like me that don't have much and were going hungry."

Columbia Legal Services
John Midgley, executive director

A Native American mother of three young children, Kaya had survived seven years of an extremely violent marriage. She always kept a car key with her and sometimes carried a knife in her sock. She was forced to prepare for violence. One day, Kaya found the courage and the moment to take her children and flee for safety. She found a volunteer attorney at her county's pro bono program to help her obtain a divorce and parenting plan. Two months later, Kaya received a phone call from the tribal police; they asked Kaya to come to her ex-husband's home where her children were visiting. Her ex-husband had been drinking heavily and assaulted his girlfriend. Kaya found her children hiding and terrified. Now familiar with the availability of legal aid in her community, the next day Kaya called the pro bono program and arranged to file an ex parte order restraining her husband from unsupervised visitation. She stood in front of the judge and spoke bravely about the events she witnessed. The judge signed the restraining order. Today, this family is safe.

Clallam-Jefferson County Pro Bono Lawyers
Nancy Rohde, director