What does it mean to be an Advocate?
"Advocate" comes from the Latin word "advocare" which means "to call to one's aid."
An advocate is defined as a person who publicly supports or recommends a particular cause or policy or a person who pleads a cause on someone else's behalf. Most advocates do both. As advocates, we work on the front lines to help low-income, elders and people with disabilities protect and secure basic human and legal rights such as safe and affordable housing, quality healthcare, a living wage, access to programs and services, and a decent education for their children. We also see policies and practices that adversely affect clients/consumers, and seek to minimize or eliminate their impact.
Legal Aid lawyers and paralegals advocate for policy change primarily through the courts and administrative processes by representing individual clients. We also seek to challenge broad policies and practices that adversely affect a number of our clients. But we cannot and should not do this in a vacuum. In order to make significant improvements in our clients' lives we need to work with other advocates who are more directly in tune with the needs of the clients and the communities they live in. Only through this kind of cooperation and collaboration, can we all realize effective change for the clients and consumers we mutually serve.
Advocates at community action agencies, homeless shelters, AAA's disability rights organizations, domestic violence programs and other agencies are our eyes and ears on the ground. You see more people than we do and as a result, you are more likely to see trends such as state agency policy changes that are affecting clients' rights or increases in evictions from a particular project, greater homelessness, etc. In cases where a legal or legislative strategy may help to push the issue to resolution, we should be working together to solve these problems. Together we can make an even larger difference in the lives of our constituencies. |
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Poverty Law Project Protects the Rights of Vermont's Most Vulnerable
There is an affordability problem in Vermont. Homelessness, hunger and poverty are increasing. The lack of affordable housing has shut low-income individuals and families out of the market and relegated them to the most unsafe and unsanitary units. The Poverty Law Project protects the basic rights of low-income people in Vermont. PLP lawyers work to protect victims of domestic violence, keep people in their homes so they can avoid homelessness, and protect important benefits for the poor.
A few recent successes include:
- Winning a key court case that will ensure that the federal Fair Housing Act protects victims of domestic violence from being evicted or denied housing.
- Success at the Vermont Supreme Court acknowledging the inadequacy of state housing and fire codes and raising the bar on what is considered adequate enforcement.
- Training police officers on what is a legal eviction, to ensure that landlords can't use police officers to evict someone illegally.
The Poverty Law Project is directed by Karen Richards and staffed by twelve attorneys, two paralegals, and support staff in five VLA offices serving all of Vermont.
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VLA Awarded $275,000 to Continue Fair Housing Work
Meris Bergquist is an attorney with VLA
JQ- Meris, congratulations on receiving a substantial grant from HUD to continue the work you've been doing.
MB- It's a very competitive process so VLA is pleased to be a recipient.
JQ- In your experience what are the fair housing issues facing Vermonters?
MB- In the rental market there are very high rates of discrimination against families with children under the age of six in Vermont. Also, there continues to be overt evidence of discrimination against individuals with mental illness and against female victims of domestic violence. I believe that all of these forms of discrimination contribute to an increase in the numbers of homeless families and individuals in Vermont. According to a publication by the Vermont Fair Housing Agency
JQ- What will the grant funding allow you to do?
MB-In addition to education and outreach, the funding will allow us to investigate housing discrimination and enforce the laws that prohibit it. Housing discrimination can be based on a number of things including; race, color, religion, sex, disability, presence of minor children, sexual orientation, marital status, receipt of public assistance, gender identity and age. We will be ramping up our testing program and we are always looking for investigators. If some is interested in becoming a fair housing investigator, he or she should call VLA at 802-863-5620.
JQ- Are there other things Vermonters should know about fair housing issues in VT?
MB-It is important for everyone to know their rights and how to enforce them. If individuals don't report housing discrimination, landlords and others will continue to discriminate against individuals and families who are protected by state and federal law. Therefore, if someone thinks that they have experienced housing discrimination I would encourage them to call the Vermont Fair Housing Council of Vermont Legal Aid at 802- 863-5620. Vermonters should have zero tolerance for housing discrimination.
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Tips for Dealing With Debt Collectors
Are your clients feeling stressed by calls from debt collectors? There are some laws that protect them in this situation. Debt collectors are not allowed to call before 8:00 AM or after 9:00 PM. They are not allowed to call at work if they are told not to. They are not allowed to call repeatedly or frequently just to bother or harass someone. They are not allowed to use foul language, AND, if the call is from a debt collection company, not the company originally owed money, send them a letter telling them to stop and they must stop. They will probably pass the debt on to a new debt collection company, and the new company will have to be contacted. But if this happens a few times, eventually the calls will stop. If they sue at that point, legal advice is available about protecting the rights of individuals in court.
Are clients worried about getting sued and losing their car, home or income? If the suit is by a debt collector, please remember that Vermont law may protect their income and property. In most cases, people can keep up to $7,400 worth of things they own, plus another $2,500 of equity in a car and $75,000 equity in a home. Equity is how much something can sell for minus how much you owe on it. (This does not protect a home from foreclosure if the owner is behind on the mortgage, and it does not protect a car from being repossessed if payments have been missed on a car loan.) Income can be protected if basic living expenses are more than income. Income can also be protected if the individual is getting assistance from the Vermont Department for Children and Families or the Office of Vermont Health Access. Make sure the court knows about any income or state assistance. And make sure the client gets legal advice about the court case when they are sued.
If clients are trying to resolve their own debts, beware of scam companies that say they will settle the debts but then just take the money. Some companies take payments and offer to try to get a good deal with creditors. Vermont law says these companies must make payments to creditors every month. If they just hold onto the money, they are probably breaking Vermont law. Or, if they charge high fees, they are probably breaking Vermont law. If a contract has been signed, the client may be able to get out of it. If they agreed to direct debit of payments to the company, those payments may be stopped. It may even be possible to get the money back from them. You can call Vermont Legal Aid (1-800-889-2047) or the Vermont Department of Banking and Insurance (802-828-3307) for help dealing with these scam companies. For help with improving credit, we recommend that you contact the Consumer Credit Counseling Service of New Hampshire and Vermont at 1-800-327-6778 or http://www.cccsnh-vt.org/.
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Highlights From FY07 included:
Helping 1600 women and children begin new lives by providing assistance with protective orders, divorces, custody and benefits.
Providing help to over 4900 individuals with issues relating to health care, insurance, long- term care and billing problems.
Protecting the individual rights of 1700 Vermonters with developmental disabilities.
Preventing homelessness for over 2100 people by providing legal help with evictions and loss of benefits.
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Access to Justice Campaign Funds Fellowship
Attorney Grace Pazdan of Randolph was recently hired by the Access to Justice Campaign as the first Poverty Law Fellow. Ms. Pazdan graduated summa cum laude from American University School of Law. Her experience includes; human rights work in Morocco, working as a Joan Bauer Domestic Violence Fellow at Vermont Legal Aid, and serving as a Law Clerk to the Hon. Denise R. Johnson, Associate Justice of the Vermont Supreme Court. She will be based in the Montpelier office of Vermont Legal Aid.
The Vermont Poverty Law Fellow is supported by donations from over 100 lawyers and private lawyer firms in Vermont. High Unemployment along with the housing crisis in Vermont threatens more and more Vermont families. Over the next two years, the Poverty Law Fellowship will look for new and innovative ways to help low income homeowners save their homes and protect them from predatory lending practices
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