We provided this update to community partners and public officials this week with updates on events and other newsworthy items.
If you are on-staff at a local organization or with a government agency, email us with a request to join the mailing list. Include your name, title, organization and email in the note. You will begin receiving Legal Aid's bi-weekly updates upon receipt.
#CLEReentryWeek2021
April 26 – April 30
Legal Aid is proud to help promote and lead events to honor National Reentry Week 2021: April 26 - 30. Use #CLEReentryWeek2021 on social media and join the conversation! Legal Aid will be hosting:
- A month-long virtual expungement clinic in partnership with Cleveland Councilman Basheer Jones, sponsored by Zillow.
- A Twitter chat on housing with partners from Eden, Inc., Fair Housing Center for Rights & Research, Towards Employment, and more.
- A Conversation About Fair Housing featuring Eric Sirota, Director of Housing Justice at the Shriver Center on Poverty Law. Legal Aid is co-hosting this event with The Shriver Center, Enterprise Community Partners, and the Cuyahoga County Office of Reentry.
- A Legal Aid at the Library: LIVE on Facebook – Record Sealing Legal Aid attorneys and Cleveland Library staff will talk with friends from the Cuyahoga County Office of Reentry, the Cuyahoga County Public Defender's Office, and Greater Cleveland Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority.
For more information about Reentry Week, visit: https://lasclev.org/03252021-2/.
BMV Reinstatement Fee Debt Reduction and Amnesty program
People whose licenses were suspended for certain violations and cannot afford the reinstatement fees may qualify for reduction or waiver of the amount owed. For more information about this program, visit this Legal Aid's FAQ page about the program.
Anyone who wants to learn more about their options related to a driver license suspension should visit this page: My ohio driver license is suspended; what are my options?
At the top of both of these webpages is a link to this survey we are doing about driver’s license suspensions: www.surveymonkey.com/r/DLSuspensions. Please share this link and encourage your clients to take the survey.
More info on the new BMV program can be found at this Ohio BMV webpage.
Also, in January, Legal Aid spoke about this topic with representatives from the Bail Project and Cuyahoga County’s Public Defender’s Office. Click here to view the conversation.
Life & The Law - Conversations About Your Rights
April 22 @ 10:00 am
Legal Aid joins Our Voices Today, WOVU 95.9 FM's signature community affairs program, for a conversation with host and WOVU Production Director T.C. Lewis. On April 22nd at 10:00 am, our attorneys will be live on WOVU to share empowering legal information and answer listener questions about housing. Want to tune in? Visit this link at 10:00 am on April 22nd to stream the conversation through your web browser, download the WOVU 95.9 FM app on Google Play or the App Store, or by tune in to 95.9 FM on your radio dial.
Claim Your Stimulus! Federal Tax Filing Deadline Extended
May 17
The IRS has extended the federal tax filing deadline to May 17th. If you have not received your Economic Impact Payments, more commonly known as a stimulus check, filing your taxes is an opportunity to claim that missed income. When you file your taxes, you can claim that missed payment or payments as a tax credit. Click here for a downloadable PDF with important information (courtesy of Community Legal Services of Philadelphia).
Legal Aid has brochures you can use! We are happy to send you materials related to COVID legal issues, free eviction help, or anything else from our legal education brochure library for you to share with people you serve. Just email back with your request.
As always, please reach out if you have any questions.
Danilo Powell-Lima
Development & Communications Assistant
Phone: 216-861-5889
Email: danilo.powell-lima@lasclev.org
The Legal Aid Society of Cleveland
1223 West Sixth Street
Cleveland, OH 44113