Dear Friends,
As our October “BT Now” arrives in your inbox, we want to acknowledge that this has been a difficult and harrowing month. So many members of our extended Bet Tzedek community have friends and family directly impacted by the horrific violence in and around Israel. We keep anyone who may have loved ones in the region in our deepest thoughts, wishing them safety, protection, and healing. This October, we are focusing on the importance of mental health and — as we continue to process the news and realities of this war — let us make sure we take care of ourselves and one another.
The 10th was World Mental Health Day and studies from the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) indicate that 64 percent of individuals living with a mental illness feel that their conditions worsen around the fall and winter holidays. Improving mental health isn’t always as straightforward as speaking with a therapist or taking medication. Systemic issues like poverty, housing instability, unjust work environments, racism and other prejudices, and disparities in access to education, healthcare, and public benefits can all impact an individual's mental health.
This also includes disparities in access to legal aid, something referred to by the California State Bar as the “Justice Gap.” Given the impact legal representation can have on systemic issues, access to a lawyer, or the lack thereof, can have a direct correlation with a person’s mental health. Bet Tzedek is working to close this gap by providing free legal assistance and advocacy to all communities in Los Angeles. We offer services that can help with homelessness and housing issues, exploitation of workers, conservatorships, tax disputes, legal name and gender marker changes, elder abuse, immigrants’ rights, and much more. View our services here. If you or a loved one needs help, we encourage you to reach out; together, we can work towards overcoming systemic barriers to mental health. You can also follow along as we promote mental health awareness on our social media accounts, which can be found at the bottom of this news digest.
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Our Work as a Leader in the Pro Bono World
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Diego Cartagena, Bet Tzedek President & CEO
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Pro Bono Week runs from October 23rd to the 28th. It’s a vital time to highlight and appreciate the hard work of pro bono attorneys and public interest legal aid organizations like Bet Tzedek. Our CEO Diego Cartagena was interviewed for a U.S. News and World Report article, “What is Pro Bono Law?”
From the article: Pro bono law describes attorneys working on civil rights and human rights issues as well as those who furnish free legal services to charitable, community, religious, educational, and governmental organizations… Even attorneys can be surprised by the scope of activities that legal services organizations provide their clients, according to Diego Cartagena, president and CEO of Bet Tzedek, a nonprofit law firm in Los Angeles.
At Bet Tzedek, attorneys tackle elder abuse, immigration filings for undocumented children, home foreclosures, loss of medical insurance, LGBTQ discrimination, small business owners’ concerns on taxes and intellectual property, and more… According to a 2022 report from the Legal Services Corporation, Americans with low incomes do not receive any or enough legal help on 92 percent of their substantial legal issues. Nonprofit legal service providers do their best to make up for the shortfall.
Everyone is “working nonstop, and the need is overwhelming,” Cartagena says.
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Our Medical-Legal Partnership Changing Lives
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Bet Tzedek and the Harbor-UCLA Medical Center created a Medical-Legal Partnership (MLP) in 2018. From 2018-2020, the MLP opened about 400 cases, most of that time with just one dedicated attorney, Tracy Douglas. (See video above!)
BT joined the Medical-Legal Community Partnership (MLCP) in July 2020. From July 2020 to present day, our partnership has opened more than 1,400 cases, making it consistently one of the highest-volume MLPs in the MLCP program. The MLCP addresses social determinants of health — including mental health — by integrating legal services into the healthcare system. Community health workers, caseworkers, social workers, and clinicians identify patients with possible legal issues and refer them to the MLCP.
Our attorneys provide intake and assessment for potential patient clients; provide advice and counsel, limited service, and full scope representation on behalf of L.A. Department of Health Services (DHS) patients; engage in outreach and education efforts focused on both medical center staff and community members; work with pro bono attorneys and in-house volunteers to address client needs; and perform case management and grant compliance tasks.
Our MLP is available to L.A. DHS Harbor-UCLA patients only. If you qualify, see the flyer below for our full range of legal services and call the number to get help!
*Supported by grants from UniHealth Foundation, the Audrey Irmas Foundation for Social Justice, and Los Angeles County’s Department of Health Services' Whole Person Care Medical Legal Community Partnership - Los Angeles (MLCP-LA) Project (subgrantee of Neighborhood Legal Services).
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BT’s Directing Attorney Appointed to the Judicial Council Probate & Mental Health Advisory Committee
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A big congratulations to our Seniors, Dependent Adults & Caregiver Direct Services Directing Attorney, Bertha S. Hayden! Bertha was appointed by California Supreme Court Chief Justice Guerrero to the Judicial Council Probate and Mental Health Advisory Committee. The committee is tasked with making recommendations for improving the administration of justice in decedent estates, conservatorships, guardianships, and other probate matters, and on mental health and developmental disability issues. This is an incredible opportunity for Bet Tzedek, through Bertha, one of our preeminent experts, to help implement structural change at a critical moment in time and aligns with our focus for this month.
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Help a Scam Victim Recover Funds Stolen by a Former Caregiver
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Case Description: Ms. H, who is 69 years old, and her late mother, who was 102 at the time of her passing in June 2022, were scammed out of significant funds by her mother’s caregiver. The caregiver was hired through a hospice agency in late December 2021. There were at least three separate scams perpetrated by the caregiver, with most of the financial loss from the mother’s estate. Approximately $115,000 was transferred via Zelle by Ms. H and her mother to the perpetrator caregiver. Additionally, as part of one of the scams, in February 2022, Ms. H purchased two brand new vehicles in her name under the direction of the caregiver. The caregiver had possession of both cars. Both vehicles have since been repossessed and sold at auction. Ms. H owes a balance of approximately $65,000. The former caregiver quit the hospice agency around March 2022.
Work Required & Deadlines: Ms. H seeks assistance in filing a lawsuit against the hospice agency that employed the scammer to recover funds on behalf of Ms. H and potentially her mother’s estate.
Notes: Most of the financial loss occurred in early 2022. Previous attempts were made to communicate with the hospice agency in March 2023 and the agency made no offers to settle the matter.
Staffing: An attorney with at least three years of experience.
If interested, contact Director of Pro Bono Programs, Sara Levine, at slevine@bettzedek.org.
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BT General Services Presentation: November 14th
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Bet Tzedek offers a General Services presentation every second Tuesday of each month, with the next one happening November 14th. Share the link with anyone who may need it and REGISTER HERE by selecting the month for which you wish to attend.
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Join the Bet Tzedek Team!
Have a passion for helping underserved residents in the community? Want to work alongside dedicated staff and volunteers who help upwards of 100,000 people per year?
Here are some critical positions we need to fill, plus more (see button below):
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Have anything you'd like us to add to future newsletters? Respond to this email.
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