Last week, Helping Our Communities Thrive: Legal Aid Symposium for the Inland Region’s Core Needs united community leaders from across the region to discuss critical civil legal issues and how we can address them together.
With more than 100 attendees throughout the day, we aimed to move the needle on critical, quality of life issues like housing, disaster, public benefits, and aging. Organizations and agencies furthered that connection through a resource fair with key community partners, in a space generously provided by the California University of Science & Medicine.
Opening our inaugural symposium was ICLS Executive Director, Tessie Solorzano, Esq., who introduced the day’s keynote speaker, Dean Erwin Chemerinsky.
The IEHP Foundation also received the first annual “Outstanding Leader in Philanthropy” Award, during the program, for their commitment to justice and community. The award not only recognized them as a generous philanthropic community leader, but as an exceptional guide and a supportive organization who addresses the Inland Region’s civil legal needs.
First on the agenda that morning was a discussion concerning the increasing impact of natural disasters on Californians and the state of disaster preparedness in the Inland Southern region.
Moderated by Inland Counties Legal Service’s (ICLS) Pro Bono Coordinator, Mahum Shere Asef, Esq., “Disaster Legal Aid: Strengthening Resilience in Inland Southern California” highlighted disaster-related legal issues and offered methods for empowering individual and nonprofit professionals to better prepare for and respond to future crises.
A discussion that connected non-governmental organization leaders, our expert panelists, Debra Williams from Building Resilient Communities (BRC), Dorothy Fernandez from Morrison & Foerster LLP (MoFo), and Julie Rattray from Neighborhood Legal Services of Los Angeles (NLSLA), outlined the critical post-disaster legal issues that could be remedied through the harmonious support of nonprofits, legal service providers, and governmental agencies.
After lunch, the symposium carried on with a necessary conversation on the federal law that has changed how states administer programs like Medi-Cal and CalFresh. Moderated by ICLS Health Law Practice Group Director, Grant Jahner, Esq., “H.R. 1 and the Future of Public Benefits: Cutting Through the Confusion” focused on the major H.R. 1 changes impacting our communities.
With help from our panelists, David Kane, Esq. of Western Center on Law & Poverty (WCLP), Diana Fox of Reach Out, and Julia Schurman, Esq. of The Arc & United Cerebral Palsy, attendees learned how these changes are challenging their communities and what can be done to support their community members, as well as what county, advocate, and community-based organizations should anticipate moving forward from anti-poverty legal organizations, community health networks, and statewide disability advocates.
Following an exchange of recommendations for helping the most vulnerable in our region stay connected to health care and food assistance, came a robust dialogue about housing stability and its ties to health, financial security, educational success, and family unity.
“The Ripple Effect: How Losing a Home Impacts Health, Work, Education & Family” touched on what happens after a household receives an eviction notice, experiences displacement, or is forced to move due to unaffordable rent or unsafe living conditions. Panelists, Jay Miller from the Inland Empire Housing Collaborative, Jeff Green from the Inland Empire Tenants Union (IETU) & the Inland Empire Community Land Trust (IECLT), and Kath Rogers from the ACLU of Southern California (ACLU SoCal), spoke with panel moderator and ICLS Housing Law Managing Attorney, Rich Merritt. Esq., on the consequences of housing loss and prevention strategies, legal tools, and community-driven solutions that support long-term stability for residents of the Inland Southern Region.
Finally, left with the incredible responsibility of bringing a first-of-its-kind event to a close was our panel on “Aging with Support and Dignity: A Multidisciplinary Approach to Protecting California’s Growing Senior Population.” Moderated by ICLS Elder Law Managing Attorney, Edith Angeliyan-Seitz, Esq., and paneled by Ben Jauregui from the Inland Empire Help Plan (IEHP) and Inland Coalition on Aging (ICA), Carmen Estrada from the Inland Caregiver Resource Center (ICRC) and Inland Coalition on Aging (ICA), and Maura Gibney from the California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform (CANHR), this session examined California’s population and the impacts of having a senior population projected to outnumber the national percentage of persons under the age of 18 by 2035, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Ultimately, despite the urgency of the topics as we moved from one panel to another, shedding light on these issues and bringing together professionals across different disciplines to share possible solutions offered a sense of hope.
With immense gratitude, we thank our panelists, sponsors, and attendees for joining us and coming together in solidarity for our communities. May this be the beginning of something great!
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