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| YWCA: Unity
House: Mechanicville:
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Saratoga: South
End: HIV/AIDS
Wills Project |
Mechanicville Pro Se Divorce
Clinic
On Saturday, March 3, we held our second Pro Se Divorce Clinic at the Mechanicville Area Community Center. This clinic was the brainchild of Anne Reynolds Copps, one of our former Board members and current Honorary Board members, and intrepid pro bono attorney for a variety of our programs. One of the many things that Anne does for us is volunteer at our legal clinic in Mechanicville and she was amazed at the number of people who came to her, desperately seeking an uncontested divorce but not having the means to afford the legal help to get it accomplished. We held a pilot clinic in the fall, and then planned a clinic in March that would be open to any low income person from any Capital Region county seeking an uncontested divorce.
Katie Weinberg and Jessica Lennon coordinated the clinic, which was a great success. Anne Reynolds Copps, Heena Shaikh from Anne’s firm, and Carla Brogoch from our office were the attorneys on site, reviewing the paperwork and helping to answer any legal questions by the clinic participants. We were very fortunate to have the assistance of Amy Sadlon-Meacham of the Capital District Paralegal Association who helped us reach out to wonderful paralegal volunteers Denise Jordan, Sandra Andreadakis, Mary Bazemore and Connie Mattice. Olivia Nix and Willow Baer of the Pro Bono Society at Albany Law School assisted us at the clinic and helped us get two other law student volunteers, Donneshia Hall and Courtnie Kirker. Our Albany Law Intern Katie Breitenbach also volunteered at the clinic and all were a wonderful help! Anne Reynolds Copps had taken the time to provide training to the law students to familiarize them with the pro se paperwork prior to the clinic, which the students reported was of great assistance to them.
A big thanks to
the folks in Mechanicville for opening up the Community Center for this
clinic and to the Liza’s Legacy Foundation, who loaned us a copy
machine to bring along so we could get the papers all ready to file
for the participants. All in all, with all of this volunteer help we
were able to assist 23 low income people fill out the complicated
paperwork for an uncontested divorce, providing each with personal assistance
throughout the morning of the clinic. We hope to hold these clinics
again throughout the year and beyond as another way to make legal help
more accessible to those in need. Thank you, Anne and all of you who
gave up your Saturday morning to help!
Thank you to the Schenectady YWCA!
On Thursday, March
22, I was honored to receive one of six 2007 Women of Achievement Awards
at a lovely ceremony at the Glen Sanders Mansion. Susan Pattenaude and
Jessica Lennon were quite sneaky about nominating me, but I thank them
for their confidence and support. In addition to the five esteemed women
who also received this award that evening, there is an impressive Academy
of Women of Achievement, former award winners who stay very connected
with the work of the YWCA. I am quite privileged to now be a member
of that Academy and to have received an award that embodies the YWCA’s
mission of empowering women and eliminating racism. Thank you to all
the wonderful folks at the YWCA!
We Need YOU to Volunteer!
As you all know, The Legal Project is primarily a pro bono program, with only one full-time and three part-time attorneys on staff for our domestic violence program. We simply cannot provide the services that are needed here in the Capital District without the assistance of attorneys who are willing to volunteer for one of our pro bono programs such as representing domestic violence victims in Family Court or first-time low-income homebuyers; helping low income persons with HIV or AIDS make a will or health care proxy; provide ½ hour consultations on civil legal issues at one of our legal clinics; or to provide legal advice to women, minority and low income small business owners. We can’t do this without you! Please contact Susan Pattenaude for more information about volunteering at spattenaude@legalproject.org.
