2022. It’s been a whirlwind of progress at the Ohio Access to Justice Foundation and a year filled with accomplishments both big and small. Here are a few highlights. The year kicked off with the Foundation awarding $1.15 million to support the immigration legal needs of nearly 2,000 Afghan evacuees seeking safety and security in [...]
Keeping Ohioans housed has always been a top priority for Ohio’s legal aid organizations. Now, thanks to a collaborative partnership with the Ohio Housing Finance Agency (OHFA), legal aid is helping more homeowners experiencing pandemic-related economic hardship avoid foreclosure by combining civil legal services with funds from the Save the Dream Ohio: Help for Homeowners [...]
B. Janelle Butler Phifer, staff attorney at Legal Aid of Western Ohio, is the 2022 recipient of the Ohio Access to Justice Foundation Denis J. Murphy Award. The Foundation presents the Murphy Award annually to an Ohio legal aid staff member to recognize outstanding leadership and advocacy. At a reception at Legal Aid of Western [...]
Most people would agree that it benefits kids to have both parents involved in their lives. Yet too often, fathers, particularly non-custodial Black fathers, encounter barriers to accessing visitation with their children. Community Legal Aid’s Parenthood Project, led by Managing Attorney John Petit, is on a mission to change this. The Parenthood Project reframes the [...]
On Veterans Day, the United States honors its nation’s heroes for their service and sacrifice. For veterans transitioning to civilian life, common civil legal problems can create barriers to achieving stability at home. Through funding from the Ohio Access to Justice Foundation, Ohio’s legal aid organizations help veterans resolve civil legal challenges to help ensure [...]
Vanetta Jamison is a former legal aid client turned Board President of The Legal Aid Society of Cleveland, a passionate advocate for Ohio’s veterans, a fierce champion for disadvantaged children, and an extraordinary person. In short, just the type of committee member the Ohio Access to Justice Foundation sought when forming its Diversity, Equity, and [...]
Jordan Miller knows about challenges. From his service in the Air Force as a young man to his incredibly successful career as a banking executive, Miller has tackled every challenge and turned it into an opportunity for excellence. Now, he is embarking on his biggest challenge yet: founding and opening the only Black-owned bank in [...]
Katie Kersh has years of experience working with the immigrant community in Dayton as an attorney with Advocates for Basic Legal Equality (ABLE). When she became project director of a new community lawyering initiative at ABLE in 2019, it was the perfect opportunity to marry her legal experience with a new approach to building social [...]
When it comes to accessing legal information and resources, language should never be a barrier. The Migration Policy Institute estimates that roughly 24.8% of Ohio’s Spanish-speaking households — approximately 62,000 people — live below 100% of the federal poverty level. Ohio Legal Help, a Foundation grantee that leverages technology and innovation to improve justice and [...]
When Lilly Cavanaugh accepted the invitation to join the Ohio Access to Justice Foundation’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Committee, she was already familiar with the Foundation’s work. As Executive Director of the Ohio Latino Affairs Commission, Cavanaugh understood the value of access to civil legal services, particularly for new Americans, and the role the [...]
