Dear Friends and Colleagues,
Join Us during our Winter Appeal! We need Your Support!
Together, we can accomplish great things in our community! Your support will allow us to continue combining direct legal representation with impact advocacy to create long-term, sustainable change in our community!
This is a critical time for so many people living in the Greater New Haven area. As we continue to experience the impact of the COVID pandemic and the economic downturn, we know from past economic crises that workers from racial and ethnic minorities, those with barriers to employment such as disabilities, criminal records, and low levels of education are among the first laid off during a downturn and the last hired during the recovery. At LAA, we support these families by helping to preserve their basic human needs- housing, safety, and income. These stories capture the impact of our work:
•A Right to Be Educated!
Over the last three years, we have worked with a number of students who experienced significant learning loss as a result of the pandemic. We recently represented a student who struggled in a regular education environment for her entire academic career, despite being identified as a student with an intellectual disability. Her struggles only worsened during the pandemic as accessing remote learning and being separated from her peers impacted her tremendously. We began by reviewing her school records and then requested a meeting with the school team. Her records demonstrated her disability was impacting her academic performance, as well as causing certain behaviors to manifest in school. We advocated the student would be best served in a small school placement with the supports and resources to meet her needs. Ultimately the school agreed and the student was transferred to a new school where she has continued to thrive.
•A Right to Safe and Decent Housing!
We represented a family living in a private two family home where the local housing authority issued the client a section 8 housing choice voucher. Despite repeated requests, our client struggled to get her landlord to make necessary repairs in the apartment. The client decided to make the repairs on her own, including purchasing a new major appliance which had become completely inoperable. As a result of these purchases, our client fell behind on her rent and the landlord moved to evict her for the unpaid rent. We worked alongside our client to get the eviction action dismissed and facilitate the client moving to a more safe and suitable housing.
By donating to LAA today, you can help us tell more of these stories. If you supported LAA in the past, we are so grateful for your commitment to us. We ask for your continued support and consider contributing an even larger gift. If you are new to LAA, we welcome you to follow us on Facebook and Instagram to learn more about our work.
Sincerely,
Alexis Smith
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