LASPLegal Aid of Southeastern Pennsylvania quality legal representation to low-income and vulnerable people annual report 2020 9400 clients served 43% of LASPs clients were members of a racial or ethnic minority 2019-20 during the pandemic WORKING TOWARD FREEDOM FROM WANT AND FEAR FOR LASP CLIENTS Eighty years ago, on Jan. 6, 1941, President Franklin Roosevelt gave one of the most memorable State of the Union addresses in U.S. history. He envisioned the world with four essential freedoms: freedom of speech and expression; freedom of every person to worship God in his or her own way; freedom from want; and freedom from fear. LASP’s pursuit of the third and fourth freedoms defines our central mission. Hon. Cheryl L. Austin (center), Court of Common Pleas judge in Montgomery County, accepted the Justice Juanita Kidd Stout Woman of Distinction Award at the Philly Barristers’ There was much to fear in 1941—the growing rise of January 2020 Martin Luther King, Jr. memorial breakfast. Patrick Kurtas (at left), 2020 Montgomery Bar Association President; and Shawn Boehringer, LASP Executive Director, fascism; the horror of concentration camps; the prospect joined Austin at the event. of world war, which the United States joined 11 months after FDR’s address; the economic despair caused by the Great Depression; and the devastating effects of a disease caused Hatboro Federal Savings’ donation, as part of by a virus: polio, spread through human contact. At its a state tax credit program, funded an attorney peak in the 1940s and 1950s, polio paralyzed or killed half to reach distressed communities in Lower a million people annually, worldwide. President Roosevelt Bucks County. himself suffered permanent paralysis due to the disease. In my own family, my mother’s only sibling, her brother, succumbed to polio in 1945 at age 12. Because of the fear of the contagiousness of the disease, his open casket was set up An Independence Foundation Fellowship in my grandparents’ living room in Berks County, and friends funded a full-time attorney to collaborate with and family conducted a viewing through the front windows of the Montgomery County Public Defenders’ their home so they would have a barrier between themselves Office to address civil legal needs of clients. and my uncle. During the COVID-19 public health crisis and beyond, the ultimate effectiveness of LASP’s work can be measured by how it advances the freedoms from want and fear. LASP preserves The new Community Engagement Unit housing, by helping tenants avoid eviction and connecting enhanced LASP’s outreach and community them to agencies that provide rental assistance. When a education, bolstered criminal record-clearing, person loses a job or faces disability, LASP advocates help increased our capacity to advocate for disability navigate pandemic-stressed systems. Clients who receive benefits, and improved access to LASP unemployment compensation or Supplemental Security services, particularly for Spanish-speaking Income have greater economic stability and can better clients. afford necessities like food, utilities, and housing. By clearing minor criminal records from the past, LASP improves clients’ opportunities for employment, housing, and education. By assisting clients to obtain orders that protect them from abuse and violence, LASP helps remove one of the most insidious Generous funding through the Veterans Multi- sources of fear in our society. Service Center (VMC) increased LASP attorney staffing to handle legal problems for veterans In fiscal year 2019-20, LASP’s advancement of the freedoms who are homeless or facing homelessness. from want and fear included increased advocacy. Additional Funding through the Disabled American staff added capacity in Bucks, Chester, Delaware and Veterans (DAV) Charitable Service Trust made it Montgomery counties. LASP’s advocacy is made possible by possible to serve ill and injured veterans. our funders and donors, including new funding sources in 2019-20. 2 / legal aid of southeastern pa: annual report our mission The mission of LASP is to provide quality legal representation to low-income and vulnerable people from Bucks, Chester, Delaware and Montgomery counties, to empower them to solve problems without legal representation through legal education and increased access to the courts, and to change community At the Pennsylvania Legal Aid Network (PLAN) reception, practices and systems that aggravate poverty. held during the Conference of County Bar Leaders in Hershey Feb. 27, 2020, Patrick Cicero (at left), PLAN Executive Director; Shawn Boehringer; and Sam Milkes, PLAN Executive Director Emeritus; pose near a DeLorean. 2019-2020 Beginning in March 2020, as we entered a time of significant fear spurred by COVID-19, LASP’s dedicated staff rose to action and shone brightly. board of directors Guided by state and federal COVID safety protocols, LASP closed offices to the public on March 17, but staff members continued their work with clients, board officers delaware county including representation in court when scheduled. Judith A. Algeo, Esq. William L. Baldwin, Esq. The Helpline remained open, becoming a resource President Donna M. Cantor, Esq. when many phones were not being answered Hon. Stephanie H. Klein elsewhere. Meanwhile, LASP staff transitioned William L. Baldwin, Esq. (through Dec. 2019) Vice President Roderick Powell to mostly remote work and to virtual or outdoor Lorraine M. Ramunno, Esq. outreach. They admirably continued service, on Catherine H. Voit, Esq. Donald J. Weiss, Esq. the front lines of justice, throughout the crisis, and Treasurer Helen Whittington LASP never stopped providing service. Our Helpline and online intake continued to be a lifeline for the William G. Roark, Esq. Secretary montgomery county communities LASP serves. By the end of fiscal year Lindsay H. Childs, Esq. 2019-20, with the support of Payroll Protection bucks county Stewart J. Greenleaf, Jr., Esq. and CARES Act funding, LASP was able to enhance Judith A. Algeo, Esq. (through Feb. 2020) services to those whose needs and fears were Ronald R. Bolig, Esq. Joseph P. Lynch, Esq. heightened by the impact of the pandemic. The Laura Long Latanya Martin Stephen Scott Nancy R. Paul challenge now is to maintain, and continue to grow, Rosemary A. Sullivan, Esq. (through Feb. 2020) these vitally important services. Melanie J. Wender, Esq. Wanda J. Rivera William G. Roark, Esq. Thank you to ALL funders, donors, staff, pro bono chester county Catherine Savage volunteers and community partners for supporting Heather Bidgood Paul C. Troy, Esq. LASP’s work before and during this crisis. You help Lauren Dentone, Esq. Milton Vélez, Esq. LASP make progress toward achieving freedoms Stacey L. Fuller, Esq. William J. Gallagher, Esq. from want and fear for our neighbors. As polio Olga Labes was eradicated with an effective vaccine, we look John F. McKenna, Esq. forward to a time soon when fear lessens, our Robert M. Mulhern, Jr., Esq. public health crisis subsides, and the hard work to Catherine H. Voit, Esq. address systemic racism, division, and offer greater economic opportunity for those who need it most move us closer to freedoms from want and fear. on the cover Eviction and unemployment crises emerged during the pandemic. In the 2019-20 Annual Report, learn how LASP staff continued to meet the legal needs of clients during COVID-19. C. Shawn Boehringer, Esq., Executive Director With a goal of increased housing stability, Montgomery County’s Legal Aid of Southeastern Pennsylvania Eviction Prevention & Intervention Coalition (EPIC) is a partnership with Your Way Home, LASP, Montgomery Bar Association, Montgomery County courts, Pottstown Cluster of Religious Communities (PCRC), and more. Far right cover image shows an eviction hearing in February 2020. PLAN EXCELLENCE award 20+ years Photos (from left): Mardi Busanus with Staff Attorney Rhonda Sherrod in September 2019; with Elizabeth Wood Fritsch, former longtime LASP Executive Director, in September 2019; and at the Bucks County Justice Center, Doylestown, in January 2020. Mardi Busanus, LASP Doylestown volunteer for 20+ years, receives PLAN Excellence Award Longtime LASP Doylestown volunteer Mardi Across two decades, Mardi has donated thousands of hours to LASP – Busanus was honored in March 2021 with including 623 hours in 2018-19 alone. “On Wednesdays I go to PFA court to a Pennsylvania Legal Aid Network (PLAN) assist the attorneys and the court, and on Fridays I am in the office answering Excellence Award. The ceremony was phones, assisting clients and handling other office duties,” she said. “It’s very delayed a year and held virtually due to satisfying. I’ve carved out my little niche.” COVID-19 disrupted her volunteer COVID-19. Mardi also was recognized for work, but in spring 2021, she returned to in-person volunteering thanks to the her 20th year of pro bono service to LASP in vaccine. September 2019 in a surprise celebration at the Bucks County Bar Association. LASP From time to time, she has helped during staff transitions in temporary paid staff, former Executive Director Elizabeth roles, but always returned to volunteering. Wood Fritsch, and pro bono attorneys Some of life’s bumps have reinforced her volunteer spirit and have given Mardi gathered in Mardi’s honor, under the guise compassion for clients. In 2019, she and her husband, Jim, celebrated their of a pro bono meeting. 46th anniversary and 50th year since their blind date. Their son, Greg, also volunteered with LASP when he was in high school and college and created the longstanding mail merge system. to LASP supporters! As Mr. Rogers wrote, “When I was a boy and would see scary received help. During 2019-20, so many individuals, law firms, bar things in the news, my mother would say to me ‘Look for the associations, government officials, foundations, staff and Board of helpers. You will always find people who are helping.’” Directors, United Ways, and others helped us continue to deliver services. It is because of all of you that LASP has been able to LASP is a helper, and during COVID-19, people have looked to us continue helping our neighbors resolve legal problems that threaten for accurate information and legal representation.