The Advocacy Exchange

Cities across the country have political structures—such as Chicago's “aldermanic prerogative”—that allow racial bias to poison decisions on the location of affordable housing. Are similar structures at work in your area? How can these structures be changed to prevent the resulting residential segregation? In our October 2018 episode of the Advocacy Exchange, our monthly conversation with advocates advancing change, we talked with Kate Walz, the Senior Director of Litigation and Director of Housing Justice at the Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law, and Patricia Fron, the Executive Director of the Chicago Area Fair Housing Alliance. We discussed how local power dynamics work to block affordable housing and further residential racial segregation—and what can be done to change these dynamics. For more, be sure to read Kate and Patricia's Clearinghouse article, “The Color of Power: How Local Control over the Siting of Affordable Housing Shapes America." https://www.youtube.com/redirect?redir_token=4hUBRYXJi9NaGuhjZkJ2FP9NkSR8MTU0MTUzNjg2M0AxNTQxNDUwNDYz&q=https%3A%2F%2Fconnect.povertylaw.org%2Fclearinghouse&v=cCrV6zcS0NU&event=video_description

Clients do not have a ready outlet through which they can broadly share their lived experiences of injustice in a way that might make things better. Legal aid advocates—including those who work for Legal Services Corporation-funded programs—can change that. But how? In our August 2018 episode of the Advocacy Exchange, our monthly conversation with advocates advancing change, we talked with Kevin De Liban of Legal Aid of Arkansas and Søren Dal Rasmussen of Voices for Civil Justice. We discussed best practices for legal aid advocates working with the media and specific examples from Arkansas. For more, be sure to read Kevin and Søren's Clearinghouse article, "Narrating Justice: Client-Center Media Advocacy." http://povertylaw.org/clearinghouse/articles/Rasmussen

Recorded on July 12, 2018 What's the most sustainable and compelling basis for seeking a diverse staff in our social justice law firms? Is it community relations? Moral reasons? Legal obligations? Or is it instead something called the "diversity bonus," the scientifically proven notion that diversity makes us smarter and better able to respond to change? In our July 2018 episode of the Advocacy Exchange, our monthly conversation with advocates advancing change, we talked with two faculty members of the Shriver Center's Racial Justice Training Institute, Ada Shen-Jaffe and Bill Kennedy, a founder of the Race Equity Project. We talked about how the "diversity bonus" applies to our legal organizations and the steps we can take to make it a reality in our work. For more, be sure to read Bill Kennedy's new Clearinghouse article, “The ‘Diversity Bonus': What Public Interest Law Firms Have Missed Regarding Diversity.” http://povertylaw.org/clearinghouse/articles/Kennedy

Federally funded programs are everywhere—state court systems, housing agencies, schools, police departments, and hospitals. And according to Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, those programs must ensure language access for those who use them. What does that mean, and how can language-access rights be enforced? Join our June 2018 episode of the Advocacy Exchange, our monthly conversation with advocates advancing change. We will talk with Tere Ramos of Ramos Law LLC and Joann Lee of the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles about the basics of enforcing language-access rights. For more, be sure to read Tere's new article, When Access to Language Means Access to Justice: How to Advocate Effectively on Behalf of Limited-English-Proficient Persons (http://povertylaw.org/clearinghouse/articles/Ramos), and Joann's new advocacy story, Finding the Path to Language Justice in the California Courts (http://povertylaw.org/clearinghouse/stories/lee)

The Trump administration is poised to propose new regulations that would further limit immigrant access to vital safety net programs. Leaked copies of the draft regulations revealed a dramatically expanded “public charge doctrine” under which immigrants could be denied admission to the United States or permanent residency if they or their dependents have used or are considered likely to use public benefits programs. Such changes would increase poverty, stress, and fear among immigrant communities. How can you and your organization fight back? In our May 2018 episode of the Advocacy Exchange, our monthly conversation with advocates advancing change, we discussed the Protecting Immigrant Families, Advancing Our Future campaign and the efforts to get as many poverty advocates as possible to oppose these regulations. Gavin Kearney, Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law; Madison Hardee, CLASP; and Sonya Schwartz, consultant for the National Immigration Law Center, explained the regulations and the concrete steps you can take to join the campaign. For more, be sure to read Gavin, Madison, and Sonya's Clearinghouse article, The Trump Administration's Next Attack on Immigrant Families and How You Can Fight It: http://povertylaw.org/clearinghouse/articles/pif

The Witness 002 - How Did You Get Into Legal Aid? by Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law