Have you been affected by the opioid crisis?
Have you been affected by the opioid crisis? Héctor Elizondo says that if you've been negatively impacted by the opiod crisis, you
When a dog is more than a man’s best friend
“Jerome” came to JALA after his property manager notified him that he was in violation of his lease because he had an unauthorized pet. He’d been given seven days to remove the animal, which was actually his emotional support dog, “Dalia.” Jerome had already provided the property manager with a letter from his treating health-care professional verifying that Dalia was an emotional support animal, but he was still forced to move her to a family member’s home.
To our Northeast Florida Community
JALA is ready to assist our community in the coming weeks and months as we respond to and recover from the current
Advocates reach settlement agreement with Florida state agencies that ensures timely review of Medicaid eligibility for beneficiaries transitioning out of adoption assistance, SSI
JACKSONVILLE, Fla., Feb. 27, 2020 – Three civil legal aid organizations this week reached a settlement agreement with the Florida Department of
JALA intercedes when landlord’s error nearly leaves mother and three children homeless
Housing subsidies are a critical lifeline for many low-income families, and they vary depending on the tenant’s income. “Brianna” and her three children lived in an apartment complex where their share of the rent was $224 a month, with the Jacksonville Housing Authority paying the $376 remainder. But in 2019, Brianna lost her Social Security income, leaving her with just $272 a month in child support.
JALA and St. Johns Housing Partnership save home of 90-year-old man
At 90, “Edgar” can’t get around as well as he used to. With no car, he relies on taxis to go places, and sometimes when he can’t get a taxi, he walks to Walmart to pick up his medications or groceries. With no job, friends or family to support him, money is tight – so tight that Edgar was about to lose his home to foreclosure. Saving Edgar’s home was truly a collaborative effort, beginning with private attorneys Clyde Taylor and Brad Waldrop, who referred the case to JALA and have assisted Edgar with legal issues on a pro bono basis in the past. JALA in turn reached out to the St. Johns Housing Partnership (SJHP) for help with a loan modification as JALA attorneys prepared to go to court to stop the foreclosure.
JALA helps low-income senior obtain satisfaction of her debt and stop garnishment
Because of unpaid debt, “June,” 66, was having her income garnished by about $460 a month, which was roughly half her earnings. She believed she had paid her debt in full and that the debtor should have filed paperwork showing her debt had been satisfied. When she reached out to the debtor's attorney on her own, she was ignored. Then she came to JALA. Upon looking further into the case, her JALA attorney realized she may have had a few months left to pay due to the interest that was included in the judgment. Her JALA attorney reached out to the debtor's attorney, who agreed to waive the remainder of what was owed and file a satisfaction. JALA’s intervention saved June from several more months of garnishment she could scarcely afford.
JALA helps family get a hardship extension on their search for subsidized housing
“Timir and Amal Asan” and their four young children are refugees who were legally admitted to the United States in 2016. They had applied for housing from the Jacksonville Housing Authority in 2016 and finally got their Section 8 subsidized housing voucher in the fall of 2019. Under this program, the voucher entitles them to subsidized rent. Once they got the voucher, the family had 60 days to find a rental property within a defined low-income rent range, get the landlord to agree to rent to them under the Section 8 program, and have the unit pass an inspection by the Housing Authority.
Housing unit saves family of five from eviction
“Sabrina” lives with her four children in public housing operated by the Jacksonville Housing Authority. There, the share of the rent she pays can increase or decrease based on household income, with her housing subsidy covering the remainder. Recently, Sabrina received a notice that her lease was being terminated because she’d failed to report some child support income in a timely fashion. She was going to be evicted for this alleged violation of her lease agreement. The notice further alleged that she owed $584 in back rent based upon the unreported child support income.
More than $1 million raised for medical-legal partnership through Freed to Run marathon series
With the donations from Freed to Run 3.0 counted, Jacksonville Area Legal Aid is now nearly halfway to its goal of creating a $2.25 million endowment for the Northeast Florida Medical Legal Partnership, having raised $1,035,000, including Baptist Health’s 125% match.