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Greetings!
With St. Patrick's Day celebrated in the middle of March, it's a fitting time to take a look at all those Irish blessings that have been preserved through the years. Many of them are well-known, and some are less familiar, but they all tend to use imaginative word pictures to convey their message.
The one that spoke to us this month as we considered the many facets of our ministry was this:
If God sends you down a stony path,
May He give you strong shoes.
Every day, we meet with clients who are definitely going down a stony path. Whether it is the result of job loss, spousal abandonment, identity theft, or any number of circumstances, poverty is a rocky road indeed.
And in that season of their life's journey, we help them put on strong shoes by giving them H.O.P.E: Help, the ability to Overcome, a Plan for their life, and the Empowerment to move forward.
The update below gives you a look at what's been happening within our Gospel Justice ministry, and within the lives of those we service and those who serve. Shoes come in a variety of shapes and styles, and so does the work of Administer Justice, and we are always excited to bring you up to date.
2011 celebrates our "One by One" philosophy, in which we strive to bring hope to the hopeless through prayer, compassion, and professional advocacy, one need at a time.
We do that by providing strong shoes and next steps, but we face some huge challenges trying to keep up with the demand for our services. Appointment times can stretch out to more than two weeks. Our voice mail system often reaches capacity in a single evening. The walk-in rate of people desperate for assistance is several times what it had been in years past.
If there is anything you can do to help us manage this explosion of need, please let us know through the links at the bottom of this e-mail.
As our clients navigate their stony paths, they definitely could use some more "sole" mates.
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Stepping in: LITC diligence recovers $15,000 for client |
| |  |  Pictured at left is tax attorney Judith Leesley, and pictured next to her is one client's case file -- it's almost 4" thick! Over the course of the last 8 months, Administer Justice, through our Low-Income Tax Clinic (LITC) has been working to sort out an extremely complicated tax recovery case for Jennifer* -- a victim of identity theft and a host of other problems that has resulted in her losing every tax refund she had earned over the last 15 years. While we can't possibly summarize a 4" case here, the bottom line is that her social security number had been compromised and was being used by up to 5 other people to gain employment. As a result, the IRS believed that she was grossly under-reporting her income each year, and was reclaiming her refunds to cover what they perceived to be taxes owed. In addition they had been sending her letters about other tax matters that she didn't understand -- and was therefore ignoring -- which was perceived by the IRS as agreement with their position. A single mom who was supporting herself and her children on a minimum-wage salary, the loss of her income tax refunds caused huge financial hardships for Jennifer. Since June of last year, a team of staff and volunteer attorneys has been interceding on Jennifer's behalf with the IRS, and building that thick file with evidence, research, adjusted tax forms, and answers to requests for additional information. The diligence paid off! Jennifer's case was closed on March 4, with the IRS agreeing that over $15,000 was to be refunded to her. Needless to say, Jennifer can think of many ways to use the money, and will actually be meeting with one of our financial counselors to learn the best way to budget it, reduce some of her debt, and set up a savings program for her children's future needs. DID YOU KNOW ... the only government money we receive is from an IRS grant that partially funds our Low-Income Tax Clinic. The rest of our support comes through private and corporate donations and church partners. * Client names are changed. |
 | Stepping up: Foreclosure workshops fill information void |
| | |  Staff attorney Pamela Tan manages Project HOME (Home, Occupancy, Maintenance & Education): our program that addresses the housing foreclosure crisis and tries to keep as many of our clients in their homes as possible. Each Thursday, she holds a free Foreclosure workshop that is open to anyone wishing to attend, regardless of income level. In addition, she meets with clients with incomes under 250% of the poverty guideline for individual consultations. We asked Pam, who presents the workshop in English and Spanish simultaneously, to give us some insight into the project:
Q: How big is the foreclosure problem in the areas we serve?
A: Illinois has the 9th highest foreclosure rate in the country. Kane County has the 2nd highest foreclosure rate in the state: one out of every 19 homes in Kane County received some sort of foreclosure filing last year. DuPage County used to be rather low on the foreclosure rate list, but in the past year it has been moving up at a pretty alarming rate.
Q: How many people attend the workshops each week? A: The numbers have been going up on a pretty regular basis. We usually have 7 to 9 people attend each workshop. Q: What kind of help can you give people in a workshop format? A: I explain what the foreclosure process looks like from the legal side (such as what happens in court, what the timeline typically is, what the legal terms mean). I also inform them of their rights, and the options they have if they want to try to keep their home or choose to make a "graceful exit". Q: How do people hear about our foreclosure workshop? A: A local housing counseling agency refers many of their clients to us, and of course all of the AJ attorneys will refer clients to the workshop if their season of poverty could trigger the potential of foreclosure. We are also participating at the Foreclosure Help Desk at the Kane County Courthouse, and the workshops are promoted there. Q: What type of information are people looking for? A: Many are looking for alternatives to foreclosure, or for a better understanding about their options. The best chance most people have to save their home is through loan modification, and unfortunately the banks don't make it easy. Probably the biggest worry and question that people ask about is what the banks want. And frankly, I have a hard time figuring that out myself! Bank response is very inconsistent and it's difficult to understand their logic regarding whose loans they'll modify. On top of all that, there are predatory businesses that consider low-income people to be easy marks, and so I need to make sure attendees know how to avoid "foreclosure rescue" scams and other fraudulent practices.
Q: Will it be possible for attendees to save their homes?
A: Many of the people we see are underemployed or unemployed, and therefore won't qualify for a loan-modification. Even if there's nothing much that can be done, we find that they are incredibly grateful just to find someone who will listen to them, who will let them express some of their frustrations and fears, and who will at least be able to offer them some sort of direction.
Q: And if it appears there is no way for them to avoid foreclosure, what then?
A: I do my best to refer them to job training/counseling and other community resources to help them find employment. As with any other type of client we see at Administer Justice, we start with where they are, and try to determine the right course for the future. And, of course, I encourage them to connect or reconnect with a church home where they can find spiritual and emotional support and the comfort and peace that can only come from God.
DID YOU KNOW: Along with those who come to our workshops, we can reach hundreds of low-income individuals with important foreclosure and other legal information when we participate in community outreach. Your gift of just $90 would fund one such event and could literally change the lives of hundreds of people in our community. |
| Stepping down: farewell to staffer Laura Meza-Zuniga |
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We are sorry to have to say goodbye to Laura Meza-Zuniga. Laura has served as our Bi-lingual Intake Specialist, and was an invaluable addition to the staff for the past year. Her cheerful demeanor was a comfort to nervous clients as they checked in for their appointments, and her patient spirit was a calming influence on callers who often just needed someone to listen to them as well as help them set up an appointment.
The staff held a lunch in her honor this week (pictured left) to celebrate her new venture and to show our appreciation for her contribution to our ministry.
Asking for the final word, here's what Laura had to say:
"I have taken away much more than I have given. My life is better for having had the privilege to meet and know each of you. But I am not going away that fast! I will still be volunteering every chance I get!"
We'll look forward to that, Laura -- thanks for being the hands and feet of Christ to those we serve.
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| Walking along side: Here's how you can give the poor "strong shoes" |
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DONATE MONEY
DID YOU KNOW: 96 cents of every dollar you give goes directly into our progams and services.
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What do you do? What would you like to do? What can you help us do? We are always looking for people to join us in our mission to bring help to the helpless and hope to the hopeless. Whether you can give us a little time or a lot, weekly, monthly, or just a couple times a year ... we've got something for you to do!
As a non-profit that intends to be good stewards of what we are given, we keep a "wish list" of items that would benefit our ministry, but that we can't spend the money on right now. If you would like to purchase the item for us, it would be a great boost to our clients or to our various program managers.
Right now, we would love to have the following items:
- An easy-to-use small digital camera (to photograph our events so we can share them with you)
- A simple laptop for our new location at Fox Valley Church in Dundee where we meet clients the third Saturday of every month.
Or -- we can use gift cards! If you have full or partial gift cards for local businesses that you don't or can't use, chances are we can find something they sell that we can use. From office supplies to building supplies (you'd never guess what gets used for a hammer around here sometimes), from office decor to cleaning the floors ... we are very resourceful and would treasure whatever you have to give, and it can be a tax deduction for you.
Click here if you would like to donate something from our wish list. |
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