Posted August 26, 20214:26 pm
We provided this update on local events, community updates, and other newsworthy items to our partners and public officials.
If you are on-staff at a local organization or government agency, please email us with a request to join the mailing list. Include your name, title, organization and email in the note. You will then begin receiving Legal Aid's bi-weekly updates.
Legal Aid Updates
Free Eviction Help
Visit freeevictionhelp.org for information and resources!
Free Eviction Help provides legal assistance to tenants facing eviction so those tenants may stay in their homes or locate better housing, stay out of emergency shelters, and keep their children in school. A lawyer can help a tenant improve housing conditions and avoid eviction and homelessness. Families helped also may receive information about resources for rental assistance, case management, access to food, and other important services.
Legal Aid works to help as many people as possible with eviction cases. Thanks to COVID-19 federal funding via Cuyahoga County, Legal Aid is working together with United Way to do outreach and provide help to people facing eviction.
Employment Matters for Social Service Providers
Our recent training for social service providers focused on the basics of employment law matters such as criminal record sealing, employment discrimination, and federal taxes for low-income taxpayers. You can view the presentation and discussion at Legal Aid’s YouTube channel, where you can also find previous trainings for community partners and much more.
Stay tuned for future community legal education events. Are you a social service provider? Working in the community? What would be helpful for you to know about common civil legal issues as you help clients? Reach out to Legal Aid for community legal education, a Resource Fair, or outreach event, click here for a speaking or event request, and click here to request brochures.
Virtual Meeting Resources Page
Do you have a virtual court hearing coming up? Libraries across Northeast Ohio are providing rooms and/or equipment to conduct virtual meetings on platforms like Zoom, MS Teams, and WebEx. View a list of such resources, including how to reserve rooms and check out technology, at https://lasclev.org/virtualmeetingspaces/
Legal Aid Facebook Live series
Back to School
Tuesday, August 31st at 5:00 p.m. on Facebook
The Legal Aid Society of Cleveland and Cleveland Public Library's 2021 Facebook LIVE series features "know your rights" information through discussion with our own Legal Aid attorneys, Cleveland librarians, and special guest experts.
This August 31 session is aligned with the "back to school" season, and will focus on legal issues related to education and how legal aid provides access to education help in Ashtabula, Cuyahoga, Geauga, Lake and Lorain counties. Legal Aid and Cleveland Library staff will be in conversation with attorneys focused on access to education.
Click on this link to visit the event page to join us.
September Expungement Clinic
Monday, August 30, 2021 through the month of September
Learn more about how to get your criminal record sealed by clicking here for an informative brochure from Legal Aid.
Need more help? Call 888-817-3777 to get an appointment at this expungement clinic, or a future one, to get assistance from an attorney to seal your criminal record.
Life & The Law – Conversations About Your Rights
Thursday, September 16th at 10:00 a.m. on WOVU 95.9FM
Legal Aid will join Our Voices Today, WOVU's signature community affairs program, for a conversation with host and WOVU Production Director T.C. Lewis.
On Thursday, September 16th at 10:00 am, Legal Aid staff will be live on WOVU to share empowering legal information and answer listener questions. This month's topic is Say Yes to Education’s legal services for families and how the program can provide resources and financial support for students completing K through 12th grade in the Cleveland Metropolitan School District.
Interested in tuning in live? Visit this link at 10:00 am on September 16th to stream the conversation through your browser.
You can catch past Life & The Law conversations at Legal Aid’s YouTube playlist: Legal Aid in the Community.
Jam for Justice 2021
Wednesday, September 22, 2021 from 5:00 – 9:30 p.m. at 601 Erieside Ave, Cleveland, OH 44114 (the front yard of the Great Lakes Science Center)
Legal Aid’s Jam for Justice is back on September 22, 2021 in the front yard of the Great Lakes Science Center. The festival-style concert is from 5:00pm to 9:30pm and tickets are on sale now. Purchase yours today, and learn more, including how to attend virtually: www.lasclev.org/2021jam/
Local updates
Northeast Ohio Solutions Journalism Collaborative: NE Ohio Economic Recovery Survey
The Northeast Ohio Solutions Journalism Collaborative - a group of roughly 20 news outlets in Cleveland, Akron and beyond - is embarking on a year-long reporting project on the region's economic recovery from the pandemic. They will use your input through this survey to identify barriers people are facing to financial stability, and possible solutions to those barriers. Click here to access and complete the survey. Questions or additional thoughts? Email Reporter Conor Morris, conor@thedevilstrip.com.
The Believe Mortgage: Small Dollar Loans for Borrowers
CHN Housing Capital, the lending arm of CHN Housing Partners, recently launched The Believe Mortgage, designed for low-dollar mortgages to help create access to homeownership. The mortgages are available in Cuyahoga and Lorain counties. Buyers must have a minimum credit score of 570 and be able to make a down payment of at least 3% to access the 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage. According to Crain’s Cleveland, this program will “help combat the cycle of distress in communities where aging houses often change hands every few years, passing from one far-flung investor to the next under a series of property managers.” Learn more in the upcoming City Club forum described below.
Believing in Home
City Club Forum
Friday, August 27, 2021 at 12:30 p.m.
This is a panel conversation moderated by Michelle Jarboe of Crain’s Cleveland, featuring panelists Kevin J. Nowak at CHN Housing Partners and D.J. Valentine at Huntington Bank as they discuss homeownership, and ways it can be used to build and achieve equity in our neighborhoods. The forum is sold out, but there is a livestream beginning at 12:30 p.m. Learn more and join the livestream here: https://www.cityclub.org/forums/2021/08/27/believing-in-home
Legal Aid is a proud sponsor of this forum.
Local COVID-19 Vaccine Information
Vaccines in Lake County
Lake County General Health Department is offering vaccine appointments and regularly scheduled vaccination clinics at multiple locations in the county. For details about dates, times, locations, appointments and walk-ins, please see: https://www.lcghd.org/2019-novel-coronavirus-ncov/covid-19-vaccination/
LCGHD is also able to provide homebound individuals seeking the COVID-19 vaccine the opportunity to be vaccinated within their own home. Eligible Lake County residents are those that have been diagnosed as homebound by a medical professional, need significant assistance to transfer into or out of a vehicle, or those without the ability to schedule transportation. Visits take place on Mondays, and two visits are typically required to complete the vaccination series. If you or someone you love is in need of this service, please contact Nursing Supervisor Rebecca Trenn at (440) 350-2970 between 9:00 am – 4:00 pm or rtrenn@lcghd.org for more information.
LCGHD is also now able to visit Lake County businesses, groups, and organizations to administer the COVID-19 vaccine to eligible individuals. If your business or organization has at least 10 individuals who would like to be vaccinated, please call (440) 350-2554 for more information.
COVID-19 Vaccines Available in Lorain County Through El Centro and Lorain County Public Health
El Centro’s COVID Care Team is now able to book first and second dose COVID-19 vaccination appointments in partnership with Lorain County Public Health. To register, please call 440-240-7064 to speak to a member of the COVID Care Team. This service is available in both English and Spanish. To learn more, visit: https://www.lorainelcentro.com/news/covid-care-team-booking-vaccination-appointments
COVID-19 Vaccine Clinics in Ashtabula County
Ashtabula County Health Department has upcoming COVID-19 vaccine clinics at their office at 12 W. Jefferson St., Jefferson, OH 44047. Clinics are every upcoming Tuesday through September 28, 2021 from 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. These are walk-in clinics with no appointment needed for the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines. First and second doses are available for persons 12 and older. Minors need a parent or guardian with them. For more info, call (440) 576-6010 or visit the ACHD website.
COVID-19 Vaccine Clinics in Geauga County
Geauga Public Health also has upcoming and ongoing COVID-19 vaccination clinics. The vaccination clinics are located at 470 Center St., Bldg. 8, Chardon, OH, 44024. Click here to learn more, or call (440) 279-1950.
COVID-19 Vaccines in Cuyahoga County
The City of Cleveland and Cuyahoga County have a variety of options for standing and on-demand clinics. Find out more and meet “The Guardians of Cleveland” here: https://guardianscle.org/
The Guardians of Cleveland are your neighbors who are shopping at the same corner store and worshiping at the same congregation. They are encouraging community members to get vaccinated through a grassroots campaign in neighborhoods throughout Cleveland.
Non-medical COVID-19 Vaccine Information
Check out our FAQ about COVID-19 vaccines to learn more about where to get vaccinated, how to avoid vaccine scams, what you should know about your employer and the vaccine, and how immigration status impacts eligibility to receive COVID-19 vaccines. https://lasclev.org/what-should-you-know-besides-medical-info-about-the-covid-19-vaccine/
State and National Updates
Advance Child Tax Credit
Do you know about the new Advance Child Tax Credit made possible through the American Rescue Plan Act? Advance Child Tax Credit payments are early payments from the IRS of 50% of the estimated amount of the Child Tax Credit that you may claim on your 2021 tax return during the 2022 tax filing season.
Learn more about eligibility, how to receive payments, and more at: https://lasclev.org/what-should-i-know-about-advance-child-tax-credit-payments/
Student loan payment pause continues through January 2022
The U.S. Department of Education recently announced a final extension of the pause on student loan repayment, interest, and collections until January 31, 2022. This will be the last extension. If people with student loans moved during the pandemic, they should make sure to contact their loan servicer and update their address and contact information. Failure to restart monthly payments in February 2022 could lead to late fees and defaults. Find out all you need to know in this article:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2021/08/06/student-loan-payment-pause/
As always, please reach out if you have any questions.
Anne K. Sweeney
Managing Attorney for Community Engagement
Direct: 216.861.5242
Main: 216.861.5500
Email: anne.sweeney@lasclev.org
The Legal Aid Society of Cleveland
1223 West 6th Street
Cleveland, Ohio 44113
www.lasclev.org