Community Legal Aid

As the sole legal services provider of Central and Western Mass, Community Legal Aid is committed to helping families stay together. CLA is currently in the process of developing a virtual tool, which would assist persons with filing or opposing guardianship of a minor. We are seeking parents/guardians/grandparents who are willing to test the tool and offer feedback. Testers will receive a $25 VISA gift card in exchange for their participation.

A free legal help hotline is now available for Massachusetts Severe Storms and Flooding survivors. The hotline is available to connect survivors to free legal services in qualifying counties who cannot afford an attorney. Survivors can call (888) 743-5749. Hotline callers may get help with legal issues like: - FEMA and SBA financial benefits - Home repair contracts and property insurance claims - Re-doing wills and other important legal documents destroyed in the disaster - Price gouging, scams, or identity theft - Landlord or tenant problems, or threats of foreclosure - Disability-related access to federal, state, and local disaster programs Survivors can call the hotline anytime and leave a message if calling after hours. Hotline partners cannot help in all cases. For example, we cannot take cases where a settlement could include legal fees or an award. But we can refer those cases to other legal help. For up-to-date information on free legal services for survivors, media members can contact our partners in these languages: English, Spanish. The Disaster Legal Services (DLS) program works with state and local partners to provide free legal help for low-income disaster survivors. The service is a partnership between the American Bar Association Young Lawyers Division, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Community Legal Aid, South Coastal Counties Legal Services, Inc., and Disability Law Center.

"South County Senior Center's Informational Fair & Cruise Night back for third year" By Chris Larabee | The Greenfield Recorder WHATELY — With two successful years behind it, the South County Senior Center’s Informational Fair & Cruise Night returns to the community for its third installment. With food, vintage vehicles and more than 16 community partners, the Senior Center is inviting folks to Herlihy Park, located on River Road, on Wednesday, Aug. 21, from 4 to 6:30 p.m. The event is free and no registration is required to attend or to bring an antique vehicle for Cruise Night. A rain date is set for Aug. 28. Entering the event’s third year, Senior Center Director Jennifer Remillard said the goal is to continue to spread the word about the numerous resources available to older adults in the region, with a particular focus on adults ages 55 and older, as well as seniors who are still working. “We’re finding that older adults who are still in the workforce aren’t always able to access resources and aren’t always aware what’s available to them,” Remillard said. “If people can’t make it, they can always reach out for additional information about any of the community partners.” Caregivers are also welcome to come and learn about what resources might be available for those they care for. Community partners offering information and resources include LifePath, Valley Neighbors, the Franklin Regional Transit Authority, RSVP, the Northwestern District Attorney’s Office, Community Legal Aid and the Stavros Center for Independent Living, among others. New partners this year are Pioneer Valley Habitat for Humanity, Greenfield Savings Bank and Sunderland’s public health nurse. People who connect with all of the community partners will be entered into a raffle to win a door prize. There will also be prizes for Cruise Night entries, including voters’ choice, most unique, best classic car and best classic truck. Sarah the Fiddler will be in attendance to play some tunes and Paris & Ty’s food truck will also be on hand, so attendees are encouraged to bring some money. The event is funded in part by Mass in Motion and the Franklin Regional Council of Governments. Remillard said the event has grown in the two years it’s been held, with 150 people attending in 2023. “It’s become a popular event,” she said. “I think seniors enjoy attending, the community shows up as well, and it’s a great way to meet and learn about resources.” Read more on our website: https://lnkd.in/ejWbgBWr

Glad to see Legal Services Corporation highlight Caela Hall’s summer internship experience with us. It was pleasure to have Caela in the Fitchburg office last year, and she was able to help us establish positive relationships with new community organizations. Pictured are CLA's 2024 summer interns with staff during one of our weekly Lunch & Learns! Read the article about Caela here: https://lnkd.in/d_6Y2KbD

"Springfield Public Schools distributes backpacks, supplies Friday" By Dave Canton | MassLive.com SPRINGFIELD — Several thousand school-aged kids and their parents lined up at Roberto Clemente Park on Plainfield Street on Friday morning to pick up their official Springfield School Department backpacks, loaded with supplies organized by the New North Citizens’ Council. More than 3,000 backpacks with pens, pencils and everything a student needs were distributed along with lunch and other goodies as community nonprofit groups and service providers lined up to help kids to start the school year right. Newly minted Superintendent of Schools Sonia Dinnall said the school district is ready to provide administrators and teachers with the training and incentives to improve the level of instruction in Springfield Schools. “One of my goals is to continue the level of motivation, engagement and encouragement we provide our staff to help focus them heavily on instruction, making sure that our teachers can move from good to great, “Dinnall said. “We are also going to be focusing on leadership development to make sure that our middle schools are thriving and that our principals and our administrators know what it really takes to move a school in the right direction.” The open field of Roberto Clemente Park was lined with booths providing information to help school families. Included were Community Legal Aid, masshelpline.com, Western Mass Care Solutions, Springfield Works, the state Department of Youth Services, A Better Life Home Care and the Springfield Police Department’s C3 unit, along with the equestrian patrol mounts “Flash Gordon” and “Billy.” Jose Escribano, chief of family and community engagement for the schools, said this backpack party is one of many across the city. Read more on our website: https://lnkd.in/eUzUh6UZ

"$3.9M to boost housing, services in six Franklin County towns" By Erin-Leigh Hoffman and Domenic Poli | The Greenfield Recorder Six Franklin County municipalities are benefiting from a total of $3.9 million in Community Development Block Grants that will support housing, social services, water quality and infrastructure projects. The CDBG program is available to fund housing and economic development projects that “assist low- and moderate-income residents or revitalize areas of blight,” according to the Healey-Driscoll administration’s funding announcement. Of the 65 communities across the state that were awarded part of the $39 million total, the local allocations are going to Greenfield, Orange, Montague, Buckland, Ashfield and Colrain. Greenfield is receiving $925,000 for the design of downtown water main replacements, microenterprise assistance, the rehabilitation of four housing units and social services. “It makes a huge difference,” said Anna Oltman, Greenfield’s community development administrator. “A lot of things just could not happen without these funds from the state.” She explained that $250,000 will be used for housing rehabilitation, executed through a partnership with Community Action Pioneer Valley. Money will rehabilitate four housing units and the rest will be set aside for emergency repairs to bring them into code compliance. Much of the rehabilitation work will consist of lead and asbestos remediation. “We don’t have a good sense of how far that quarter of a million dollars will go until we select the homes,” she explained, adding that she hopes that will happen in October. Oltman said housing rehabilitation is something Greenfield undertook for about a decade before the COVID-19 pandemic. It applies to qualifying homeowners and there is a waitlist. “A good chunk of the housing stock in Greenfield was built in the 1940s and earlier,” she noted. Six Franklin County municipalities are benefiting from a total of $3.9 million in Community Development Block Grants that will support housing, social services, water quality and infrastructure projects. The CDBG program is available to fund housing and economic development projects that “assist low- and moderate-income residents or revitalize areas of blight,” according to the Healey-Driscoll administration’s funding announcement. Of the 65 communities across the state that were awarded part of the $39 million total, the local allocations are going to Greenfield, Orange, Montague, Buckland, Ashfield and Colrain. Greenfield is receiving $925,000 for the design of downtown water main replacements, microenterprise assistance, the rehabilitation of four housing units and social services. Read more on our website: https://lnkd.in/eWCV4CMe

Thank you Jane and Jack Fitzpatrick Fund for supporting Community Legal Aid's Pittsfield office renovations!

"Greenfield awarded $925,000 in community development grants" By John Bundenas | WWLP-22News GREENFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) – The City of Greenfield has been awarded $925,000 in Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funding to support various community initiatives. The funds will be allocated to projects aimed at improving housing, infrastructure, small business support, and social services, with a focus on aiding low and moderate-income residents. CDBG, a federal program designed to foster economic and community development, provides financial assistance to states and localities. Greenfield, designated as a Mini-Entitlement Community under the Massachusetts CDBG Program, must receive approval from the Massachusetts Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities (EOHLC) for each funded project. The city submitted its FY24 proposal to the state on March 25, following two public hearings and a request for proposal process for social service projects. Read more on our website: https://lnkd.in/ed7hS2xQ

Community Legal Aid had a great time attending NEBLSA’s annual Job Fair at New York Law School last Friday. Community Legal Aid's Chief Operating Officer Leticia Medina-Richman (pictured) met with law students to talk about our summer internship and staff attorney positions! Interested in becoming a part of CLA's mission of bringing FREE high-quality legal services to members of our community? Visit https://lnkd.in/eKpTZnGy to see open job opportunities. #legalaidjobs #legalservicesjobs #legalaidlawyer #legaladvocate #publicinterestlaw

"Greenfield Awarded $925,000 In CDBG Funding" By The BusinessWest Staff | BusinessWest GREENFIELD — The city of Greenfield is receiving $925,000 in Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funding. The funds will be utilized to support a medley of community-based initiatives. CDBG is a federal program that provides funding to states and localities for economic and community development. The funding is geared toward building viable local communities, particularly for people of low or moderate income. Greenfield is a mini-entitlement community under the Massachusetts CDBG program. The city must apply for and receive approval from the Massachusetts Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities (EOHLC) for each project it wishes to fund. Community planning for Greenfield’s FY 2024 CDBG funds included two public hearings and a request-for-proposals process for the social-services projects. The city submitted its FY24 proposal to the state on March 25. The funds will be allocated to the following projects: - $250,000 for housing rehabilitation, executed through a partnership with Community Action Pioneer Valley to rehabilitate four housing units and set aside for emergency repairs; - $201,751 for water-main replacement design and engineering, to support bid-ready designs and plans for replacing water mains in the downtown central commercial zoning district. The bid/design stage is calculated at 15% of construction costs. Water-main replacements will take place over the next five years; - $112,500 for microenterprise assistance, executed through a partnership with Franklin County Community Development Corp., a collaboration that includes workshops for small-business owners and potential owners and investment capital for qualified microenterprises; and - $185,000 for several social-service programs, including: $50,000 for Community Legal Aid’s Homelessness Prevention Project, $44,200 for Wildflower Alliance’s Homelessness Prevention Greenfield expansion, $40,800 for the Stone Soup Café Community Free Store, $35,000 for the Center for Human Development’s Greenfield Elder Wellness Program, and $15,000 for the Center for New Americans Fostering Immigrant Self-sufficiency Program. “This CDBG funding round will leave a lasting impact on Greenfield,” Mayor Ginny Desorgher said. “I am grateful to CDBG coordinator Anna Oltman and the Community and Economic Development Department for overseeing this process. I am proud that the funds effectively address a variety of important issues in our community.” Added Community Development Administrator Anna Oltman, “thank you to the Massachusetts EOHLC for funding this program. Greenfield’s social-services agencies really stepped up with some amazing projects this round, and we’re so grateful to them for the work they’re doing, especially in the areas of homelessness prevention and elder services.” Read more on our website: https://lnkd.in/e4ENME6J