Dave Palmer works with New York Lawyers for the Public Interest's Environmental Justice & Community Development Project.  The project aims to strengthen the ability of communities to assert their right to a healthy environment through innovative "community lawyering.  " Employing direct representation, organizing and legislative advocacy, Palmer works with communities to challenge the school-siting process in New York City.  

The “One Strike” policy, as currently implemented by HACOLA, allows voucher termination if a family member is involved in a single incident of drug related or criminal activity.  The purpose of my project named “One Family” is to protect low-income families in the Antelope Valley area of Los Angeles County from losing their Section 8 housing due to their children’s involvement in school disciplinary and/or criminal proceedings through direct services, community education, policy advocacy and litigation.  .  

This project focuses on families who need public assistance to meet their basic needs but who cannot access assistance because of chronic barriers.  Social service and health care providers working with families may lack the expertise to help clients access and retain public assistance, or to recognize when legal representation is needed.  The Project’s collaboration between GBLS and MGH better educates providers about benefits rights and issues, giving their clients direct access to legal assistance.  

I will be the first full-time legal advocate for domestic violence victims at the Boston Medical Center, the greater Boston area's safety net hospital.  I will also be contributing to Boston Medical Center's new efforts to update and improve the hospital's response to domestic violence among its patients and their families.  .  

Laurie Parise works for the National HIRE Network, a project of the Legal Action Center, whose mission is to provide leadership on key public policy initiatives to promote the employment of people with criminal histories.  Laurie’s project expands on the work of HIRE and addresses the unique issues that youth who have been involved in the juvenile and criminal justice systems face when they re-enter society generally and the workforce particularly.  Currently, there is no organization in New York City working exclusively with the juvenile population on this issue.  

Jae works at the Asian Pacific American Legal Center (APALC) on developing the organization's overall volunteer/pro bono capacity and assisting low-income people in a range of poverty law issues.  She collaborates with other legal aid providers and community-based organizations to expand the range of services available to the poor and immigrant communities through educational seminars and legal workshops and clinics, focusing on needs not readily addressed by traditional legal aid providers.  For example, she is currently developing a clinic to aid those in need of information about deportations.  

Dianna Parker works with the Equal Justice Foundation in a state-wide project assessing and addressing the educational and legal rights of homeless youth.  Partnering with organizations such as the Youth Empowerment Program and the Coalition on Homelessness and Housing in Ohio (COHHIO), this project will seek to enforce the unmet legal needs of those youth as set forth under the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, the No Child Left Behind Act and the Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act.  Program implementation will be multi-faceted, focusing on initial needs assessment, widespread awareness-raising, and individual enforcement.  

Shawna Parks worked on the Disability Holocaust Project at her host organization.  The Project served the interests of the thousands of individual Holocaust survivors with disabilities, and the entire disability community.  During the Holocaust, people with disabilities were subject to forced sterilization, extermination, slave labor and horrific medical experiments.  

My project will provide holistic civil representation to people with psychiatric disabilities who have been affected by the criminal justice system.  As a result of incarceration, individuals with mental illnesses often find themselves without a place to live, with their public benefits terminated, and with no way to access appropriate treatment.  The goal of my project is to further the work of The Bronx Defenders to stop the revolving door of the criminal justice system by addressing the civil legal needs of this vulnerable population.  

Shahar Vinayi Pasch’s project to combat the economic exploitation of the elderly is housed within the Palm Beach County Legal Aid Society’s Elder Law Project.  The ultimate goals of Shahar's project are to develop Legal Aid's in-house expertise in consumer law, including state and federal fair debt collection, unfair and deceptive trade practices and truth-in-lending laws; advocate on behalf of elderly victims of consumer exploitation; and provide outreach to educate the elderly about their rights as consumers and prevent future exploitation.  Much of Shahar's advocacy work is accomplished through litigation.  

Establishing a youth health transition clinic to help adolescents with disabilities or critical health needs transition from pediatric to adult-oriented healthcare while optimizing functionality, assumption of adult roles, and access to public benefits.  .  

Jacksonville Area Legal Aid, Inc.  is the only local legal aid agency, and we are never slow on business.  My target population is the working poor of Jacksonville who are facing unfair debt collection practices.  

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My project is to find active cases at the intersection of technology and First Amendment values – in particular free speech rights – and submit amicus briefs on behalf of Public Knowledge.  By intervening in litigation on behalf of artists, consumers and citizens, I hope to help protect the ability of everyone to speak freely in the digital age.  And by adding a litigation capability to the organization’s ongoing educational, admin law and grass-roots work (which my project also includes), we hope to bring another important voice to the legal side of the fight.  

Anne Pearson worked with the Welfare Law Center on a project designed to remove the barriers to accessing food stamps.  The sad truth is that in cities around the country, getting and keeping food stamps can require a family to overcome almost insurmountable obstacles.  Families seeking to apply for food stamps are often discouraged from applying, denied applications, refused expedited service or intimidated and harassed by caseworkers into withdrawing their applications.  

Caridad Pena focused on the needs of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered and questioning (GLBTQ) youth in foster care.  She provided individual representation to clients in family court proceedings, and worked to improve services provided to this population throughout the foster care system.  While a law student Caridad interned at Lawyers for Children and worked on a case that prompted her fellowship project.  

Soly Perez is advancing the rights of the Latino community through her work at the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) Foundation of Southern California.  She is utilizing model litigation, bilingual/bicultural public education and public policy advocacy to address priority civil rights issues facing Latinos, especially Latina women and girls in Southern California.  These issues include educational equity and access to health care, particularly with regard to reproductive health.  

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Our goal is to develop a replicable model that responds to the urgent needs of immigrant youth in Washington State's juvenile justice system.  After contact with this system, youth face immigration policies that result in prolonged incarceration, fewer educational opportunities, and high rates of deportation to possibly life threatening situations.  This project will promote collaborative advocacy among stakeholders, establish uniform policies that maximize access to immigration relief, and train pro bono attorneys and students in direct advocacy.  

Kristin Petri is developing a legal assistance program for non-citizen children facing removal (deportation) proceedings.  The project assists children who enter the U.  S.  

Sean Pevsner is working with Advocacy Incorporated, a federally funded, nonprofit organization that protects the civil and human rights of people with disabilities in the state of Texas.  Sean represents students with disabilities to ensure that they receive equal access to education and employment opportunities.  Sean complements Advocacy’s services not only by providing free legal services to these individuals but also teaching them self-advocacy skills.  

I will work with the Southern California Housing Rights Center to defend disabled tenants against eviction proceedings by applying federal and state Fair Housing Acts.  I will educate disabled tenants of the powerful protections afforded them under these Acts, and train other advocates to provide eviction defense where disability discrimination is implicated.  Through this multi-pronged approach, I will empower both tenants and advocates to reduce disability discrimination in housing.  

Anne Phelps worked in the Child Nutrition Unit at the Food Research and Action Center (FRAC) in Washington, DC.  Her project involved writing an advocate’s guidebook to the federal food programs serving low-income children, including the National School Lunch Program, the School Breakfast Program and the Summer Food Service Program, among others.  Although these programs provide nutritious meals to millions of children, there are millions more children who qualify and need to be reached.  

My project involves outreach, advocacy and direct representation to immigrant victims of crime under the U visa.  I work with community-based organizations, law enforcement agencies, and regional and national networks of immigration and domestic violence advocates.  I also provide direct representation to those eligible for the U visa.  

Sara Pic-Harrison is a Katrina Pro Bono Legal Corps member serving at The Pro Bono Project in New Orleans, Louisiana.  Sara assists low-income people in Southeast Louisiana with family law issues and homeless people facing numerous legal problems.  She works to accomplish this by re-activating the family law bar, which primarily involves solo practitioners and small firms.  

Natalie co-administers the Law Students in Action Project with fellow Equal Justice Works AmeriCorps Attorneys Victoria L.  King and Elisabeth Kingsbury.  LSAP is a program of Legal Assistance of Western New York (LAWNY) that enables public interest law firms to serve their clients more efficiently with the assistance of law student volunteers.  

Struggling new mothers may face challenges with housing, domestic violence, disability, immigration status, education and access to government benefits, which affect health and well-being and place harmful stress on fragile families.  The project will provide comprehensive legal advocacy for low-income pregnant women and new mothers in collaboration with medical and community providers throughout the city.  It will continue to expand on LegalHealth's work providing high-quality legal services to vulnerable patients in a medical or health care setting.  

My project seeks to enforce the mental health and immigration rights of detained non-citizens in removal proceedings who have mental and/or developmental disabilities.  I will also advocate systemically for enhanced due process protections and mental health care for these clients.  .  

Jennifer's project provides legal representation to child victims of trafficking and other violent crimes.  Children are regularly trafficked for forced labor in domestic service, agriculture, textiles, prostitution, restaurants and other sectors.  Currently no other service provider in the Washington, D.  

Indigent youth reentering society after a criminal conviction face an overwhelming number of legal challenges.  They can be suspended from school, evicted from public housing, and discriminated against during employment.  With no right to counsel after conviction, they face these challenges alone.  

Andrea Poplawski believes that access to justice should not be measured by one’s ability to pay for it.  Accordingly, she is providing direct legal representation to indigent mothers as they make the transition to self-sufficiency.  Indigent single mothers comprise a significant number of persons in Spokane County.  

Born and raised in New York, Lisa Poris began working with at-risk children in high school when she taught an art class for children at a homeless shelter.  Her commitment to children's rights work continued through college and law school, as she worked for organizations that focused on domestic violence, education policy and the legal rights of minors.  In her third year of law school, Lisa’s attention turned to foster care as she participated in NYU's Family Defense Clinic, representing parents with children in foster care.  

The University of Miami houses the Health and Elder Law Clinic.  Rather than limiting my project to one issue, my project focuses on attacking a variety of legal issues that affect the elderly such as healthcare, estate planning, guardianships, probate, SSI/SSDI, housing and immigration.  Through community education, healthcare professional trainings and direct representation, I assist Miami-Dade County low-income elderly to overcome a variety of legal issues.  

I work with Pro Seniors, a nonprofit organization providing free legal services to Ohio residents age 60 and older.  My work is focused on preventing foreclosures caused by predatory lending and economic pressures.  .  

Nora Preciado is currently working with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) Foundation of Southern California on a project to protect the language rights of Spanish-speaking community members in Orange County.  These individuals often require interpreters to have meaningful access to vital government services, particularly in the area of healthcare.  Her project has both a community education and a litigation component.  

Nonprofit community development corporations (CDCs) build much of the affordable housing and community facilities in low-income neighborhoods.    They need legal help to get the most from new laws and programs that have encouraged green building in the private and public sectors.  My goals are to help CDCs access green development resources so that residents can enjoy the health, environmental and economic benefits of green building, and to help Brooklyn A and other advocates develop an expertise in green community development.  

Jennifer Pringle heads the legal component of The Partnership for the Homeless’ Education Rights Project.  She works with families to ensure that the educational needs of homeless children in New York City are met by securing timely access to schools of the family’s choice and appropriate educational and supportive services.  She also conducts outreach and trainings for homeless parents, teachers and shelter staff to inform them of the legal rights of homeless children with regard to their education.  

The Miami Medical–Legal Children’s Clinic will resolve underlying legal issues contributing to health problems by partnering with pediatric medical providers to improve the overall health and welfare of low-income children and families.  Children living in poverty are disproportionately exposed to a host of risk factors that negatively impact their ability to achieve their full potential, including dangerous living conditions, malnutrition, abuse and depression.  .  

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Patients often defer medical care when they cannot afford to pay their bills, making medical debt a barrier to health care access.  California's Hospital Fair Pricing Policies provides safeguards for low-income patients by mandating that hospitals offer charity care, discounts and limits on collection practices.  Using this new consumer protection law, I will provide legal advocacy to patients with medical debt and pursue legislative improvements in order to combat the devastating effect of medical debt on San Mateo County's most vulnerable patients.  

Archana Pyati works with the Asylum Program of the Lawyers Committee for Human Rights in New York City.  The Asylum Program provides legal services to hundreds of asylum seekers each year through the operation of one of the largest and most successful pro bono programs in the country.  It also advocates for domestic adherence to international standards of refugee protection.