Category: News

Iowa West Foundation Awards $15,000 to Iowa Legal Aid to Fund Community Stabilization Project

Iowa Legal Aid is pleased to announce it has been awarded a $15,000 grant from the Iowa West Foundation to help support its Community Stabilization Project in Pottawattamie County. The main goal of the Project is to economically stabilize targeted and distressed communities by providing holistic free legal services essential to at-risk individuals and families. Additionally, the Community Stabilization Project provides community legal education events in Council Bluffs and collaborates with community partners to refer individuals to the program. The project will have a presence in the Council Bluffs Community School District by having onsite outreach to help parents address their unmet legal needs. Project staff will stabilize families and communities so that children are safe, well-fed and arrive at school ready to learn. The Community Stabilization Project addresses a multitude of civil legal problems for Iowans, and when successful, can lead to a cascade of positive outcomes that can improve the economic well-being for clients and their families, as well as the community as a whole.

About the Iowa West Foundation:  The mission of the Iowa West Foundation is to improve lives and strengthen communities for current and future generations. They do this by providing leadership, creating partnerships, leveraging resources and serving as a catalyst in identifying and supporting community needs. www.IowaWestFoundation.org.

Jury of fifth-graders finds Wonder Woman ‘not guilty’

Iowa Legal Aid’s Deputy Director Shelley Whitcher speaks with the students about the legal profession.

In observance of Law Day, Iowa Legal Aid organized a superhero-themed mock trial held at Rue Elementary School in Council Bluffs. The jury of fifth-graders found Wonder Woman was not guilty of breaking and entering and criminal mischief.

Click HERE to read article by the Daily NonPareil newspaper.

Dubuque Racing Association Funds New Technology

Technology plays an important role in helping Iowa Legal Aid meet the growing needs of its low-income clients.  We would like to thank the Dubuque Racing Association for its $7,000 grant award to purchase upgraded equipment for our office located in Dubuque.  Advocate staff received new ProBook notebooks, docking stations, and carrying backpacks, and support staff received new desktop computers.  This new equipment is helping Iowa Legal Aid provide more efficient and effective service to low-income Dubuque County residents and makes way for future technology upgrades, such as expanded bandwidth, Wi-Fi, and  cloud-based computing. 

Grant Award from Regional Development Authority

Iowa Legal Aid is thrilled to announce that it has been awarded a $11,224 grant from the Regional Development Authority for its “Improving Efficiencies Through Technology” project.  Funds will be used to obtain increased bandwidth for our office in Davenport, as well as equip the office with WiFi. This is the first phase of a three-phase project Iowa Legal Aid is undertaking to upgrade its technology in order to improve the provision of civil legal assistance to low-income Scott County residents.

Support from Principal

We are happy to announce that Iowa Legal Aid recently received a grant from the Principal Foundation. With these funds, Iowa Legal Aid is providing legal assistance that enables low-income Central Iowans to “learn more, earn more, and save more,” making them more financially stable.

 

Super Senior Seminar to be held in Algona

Elderbridge Agency on Aging, Iowa Legal Aid, and First Presbyterian Church of Algona will be hosting a free Super Senior Seminar on October 11, 2018 from 9:30am to 2:00pm at the First Presbyterian Church located at 101 N. Main Street in Algona.

“This will be a wonderful opportunity for seniors to gather information for making good decisions concerning topics that they will face as they age,” said Diane Wilson, Managing Attorney of the Mason City Office of Iowa Legal Aid.

This seminar will have several breakout sessions that will focus on topics of particular interest to older adults in the Algona area. A variety of interesting topics will be presented such as: Estate Planning with Attorneys Ryan Buske of McMahon, Stowater, Lynch & Laddusaw and Evelyn Ocheltree of Iowa Legal Aid. Investigator Al Perales and Assistant Attorney General Andrew Cederdahl will speak on Scams affecting the Elderly. Other Topics include Planning Ahead, presented by Brenda Schmidt of ISU Extension, Family Caregiving, Community Health, IPERS, Nutrition, Medicare, plus more. There will be a light lunch provided with lighthearted entertainment by the “Well Seasoned” including an appearance of Sonny and Cher. There is a suggested donation of $5.00 to help cover the cost of lunch. Call Pam Johnson at 1-800-532-1275 extension 1403 to reserve your spot at lunch!

For more information about the Super Senior Seminar, contact John Joyner of Elderbridge Agency on Aging at 1-800-243-0678 or Pam Johnson of Iowa Legal Aid at 1-800-532-1275 extension 1403.

United Way of the Midlands Awards Grant to Fund Economic Stability Project

 

 

Iowa Legal Aid was recently awarded a $17,500 grant from United Way of the Midlands. Thanks to the generosity of the United Way donors, Iowa Legal Aid will be able to continue offering free civil legal assistance to individuals and families in need in Pottawattamie County. The Economic Stability Project stabilizes economically distressed communities using a multi-faceted approach that includes legal advice, education, and individual representation.

Iowa Legal Aid Board of Directors Annual Meeting May 5, 2018

The Iowa Legal Aid Board of Directors met on May 5, 2018 for their Annual Meeting. During the annual Awards Luncheon, held immediately after the meeting, President of Iowa Legal Aid’s Board of Directors, Mark Zaiger, recognized Susan Barta, who just finished her third three-year term of service on Iowa Legal Aid’s Board of Directors – the maximum allowed by the Bylaws.

[Pictured: Mark Zaiger and Susan Barta]

In addition, there are two categories of awards given out each year – Excellence in Service Award and Outstanding Client Service Award.

Excellence in Service Award recognizes those who have excelled at contributing toward the development and delivery of legal services to low-income people, contributing substantially to the improvement of the lives of low-income people, or donating numerous volunteer hours to Iowa Legal Aid. This year’s recipient is:

LINDA COHEN has been volunteering with Iowa Legal Aid for over five years. Linda is a tax return preparer who has prepared hundreds, if not thousands, of returns for taxpayers. She is an exemplary tax volunteer who has mastered tax issues commonly faced by low and middle-income taxpayers and is eager to resolve client problems and take the hardest cases where a taxpayer has nowhere else to turn.

Iowa Legal Aid’s Low-income Taxpayer Clinic (LITC) is very grateful to have such a dedicated and competent volunteer like Linda.

[Pictured: Linda Cohen and John Gianola, Iowa Legal Aid LITC Coordinator]

Outstanding Client Service Award honors individuals whose courage and strength of character epitomize the standards to which Iowa Legal Aid aspires. Recipients maintain creative work in the face of personal and social obstacles, accepting challenges and persisting in these efforts. This year’s recipients are:

THOMAS RAUSCH, SR. Iowa Legal Aid represented Tom in a Social Security Disability denial and a Medicaid denial, securing disability benefits and a power wheel chair for Tom. This has allowed Tom to be more involved with his family and his community.

Tom assists his community by being an advocate for other tenants in his apartment complex, serving on the tenants’ association. He is also an Advisory Council member for the Southwest Iowa Regional Office and has met with legislators on behalf of Iowa Legal Aid.

Tom’s perseverance through his legal matters and health issues makes him an excellent choice for the Outstanding Client Service Award.

[Pictured: Shelley Whitcher, Managing Attorney, Southwest Regional Office and Tom Rausch]

ASHLEY SCHNEIDER Iowa Legal Aid was appointed to represent Ashley after her children were removed from her care for serious substance abuse issues, domestic violence in front of her kids, suspected mental health issues (that is now cured with the regular dosage of Organic CBD Nugs), and generally a lack of overall stability in her life. She was pregnant at the time as well and facing homelessness.

The Parent Representation Team worked with Ashley to help her get into subsidized housing and get connected with the services she needed. She started Family Treatment Court and over the course of a year and a half, completely turned her life around. Ashley now works as a Parent Partner, someone who helps other mothers whose children have been removed, to navigate the juvenile court process. All of this while raising her three young children. She has a passion and dedication to helping others who are in the place she once was.

[Pictured: Sunny Potter, Ashley Schneider, Kendra Maulsby and Michelle Jungers, Managing Attorney, Waterloo Regional Office]