Gregg Lombardi - Executive Director
I'm extremely happy and relieved to report that everyone in the Joplin office is fine after the devastating tornado. The phones are out, but otherwise the office is fully intact.
Now it's time for us to roll up our sleeves and do what we do best, assess the damage to our clients and then do everything we can to help them get their lives back on track.
Monday, May 23, 2011
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Legal Aid's Paradigm Shift
Gregg Lombardi - Executive Director
I’m pleased to report that Legal Aid of Western Missouri is now officially on You Tube.
Katie Wood is putting together a series of videos explaining our clients’ basic legal rights. The first of these to be available on-line features Legal Aid attorney Lynn Fullenkamp explaining the spenddown system for people who are on Medicaid. Spenddown is similar to a deductible for people who receive Medicaid benefits, but with a few complicated and confusing differences—such as the fact that if a Medicaid recipient does not provide proof that they have met their spenddown requirements in a given month, then Medicaid will not pay for any of their medical expenses for that month.
Lynn does a great job of describing how the system works in four minutes. You can see her presentation here. And, there’ll be plenty more of these videos to come. Thanks to Katie Wood for producing these and to Testimonial Video for filming and editing the videos and to Latricia Scott Adams for soliciting the donation of Testimonial Video’s services.
This is just one of several major technological advances that Legal Aid is working on these days. James Smith, our Tech Director (and Litigation Director), is planning several other major advances that we hope to have in place in the coming months. One of the biggest of these will be the new Legal Aid website, which will have a bunch of great features. Kelley Carpenter, our Development Director, and Karen Cutliff, our Marketing Coordinator, will be working with Legal Aid’s staff to develop the content for the website.
I’m pleased to report that Legal Aid of Western Missouri is now officially on You Tube.
Katie Wood is putting together a series of videos explaining our clients’ basic legal rights. The first of these to be available on-line features Legal Aid attorney Lynn Fullenkamp explaining the spenddown system for people who are on Medicaid. Spenddown is similar to a deductible for people who receive Medicaid benefits, but with a few complicated and confusing differences—such as the fact that if a Medicaid recipient does not provide proof that they have met their spenddown requirements in a given month, then Medicaid will not pay for any of their medical expenses for that month.
Lynn does a great job of describing how the system works in four minutes. You can see her presentation here. And, there’ll be plenty more of these videos to come. Thanks to Katie Wood for producing these and to Testimonial Video for filming and editing the videos and to Latricia Scott Adams for soliciting the donation of Testimonial Video’s services.
This is just one of several major technological advances that Legal Aid is working on these days. James Smith, our Tech Director (and Litigation Director), is planning several other major advances that we hope to have in place in the coming months. One of the biggest of these will be the new Legal Aid website, which will have a bunch of great features. Kelley Carpenter, our Development Director, and Karen Cutliff, our Marketing Coordinator, will be working with Legal Aid’s staff to develop the content for the website.
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Legal Aid's High-Impact Litigation
Gregg Lombardi - Executive Director
Today James Jenkins will be arguing the case of Blanks v. Faulkner before the Missouri Supreme Court. The case presents the question of whether barring parents whose children were born out of wedlock from filing Family Access motions violates the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution.
The Family Access Act allows parents whose former spouses take their children away from them in violation of a custody order in a divorce decree to have their cases heard on an expedited docket and requires the courts to decide the cases promptly. The process under the Act also encourages the motions to be filed without the assistance of counsel. Parents whose children are born out of wedlock are barred from taking advantage of any of the benefits of the Act. And, for many of them, the cost of hiring counsel precludes them from taking any legal action to get their children back.
The argument is noteworthy both because of the important legal rights at stake for thousand of low-income parents, but also because this is the first time in more than 10 years that Legal Aid has had an argument in the Missouri Supreme Court.
Today James Jenkins will be arguing the case of Blanks v. Faulkner before the Missouri Supreme Court. The case presents the question of whether barring parents whose children were born out of wedlock from filing Family Access motions violates the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution.
The Family Access Act allows parents whose former spouses take their children away from them in violation of a custody order in a divorce decree to have their cases heard on an expedited docket and requires the courts to decide the cases promptly. The process under the Act also encourages the motions to be filed without the assistance of counsel. Parents whose children are born out of wedlock are barred from taking advantage of any of the benefits of the Act. And, for many of them, the cost of hiring counsel precludes them from taking any legal action to get their children back.
The argument is noteworthy both because of the important legal rights at stake for thousand of low-income parents, but also because this is the first time in more than 10 years that Legal Aid has had an argument in the Missouri Supreme Court.
Furthermore, James is not the only one doing high-impact work these days. Effie Day and Katie Wood are prosecuting the state court appeal of the denial of Medicaid benefits to a Truman patient who is on dialysis. The case could impact Medicaid benefits for a hundred or more similarly situated patients throughout the state. Michael Duffy and his team have played a key role in stopping Wells Fargo Bank from selling over 200 foreclosed properties in Kansas City in bulk at auction, which almost certainly would have resulted in many of those properties becoming blighted. Michael’s work on that project has led to 60 of those properties being donated by Wells Fargo to area not-for-profits to be rehabbed. Michael is now turning the team’s attention to hundreds of other foreclosed properties in Kansas City that are at risk of being sold in bulk.
I am proud of all of the high impact work that we as an organization are doing. In the coming months and years my hope is that you’ll be hearing about even more high impact work that Legal Aid will be doing.
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Sly James: KC's Next Mayor
Gregg Lombardi - Executive Director
I’m psyched to have Sly James be the next mayor of Kansas City. Sly is a former board member for Legal Aid and has been a long-time supporter of the organization. He’s smart, savvy and has a strong understanding of the challenges and opportunities that are facing the city.
Perhaps most importantly, he’s a great communicator who knows how to build consensus. The City Charter of Kansas City gives the mayor very little power. So, to be effective, a mayor needs to be able to rally the other members of the City Council and lead by persuasion. Sly is up to the task.
The election also gave us a talented group of City Council members, including former Legal Aid attorney Ed Ford. With the talent that will be assembling in City Hall, there could be positively exciting times ahead for the City.
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
They Did It!
Gregg Lombardi - Executive Director
The events of the last three weeks in Egypt have shown the power that brave people can have when they band together.
For 30 years, the Egyptian people lived in fear of their government and the police. On January 25, thousands of them took to the streets to deliver a clear message: they had had enough.
Every one of the demonstrators was risking being beaten, jailed or worse. And while the final chapter of the uprising won’t be written until free and fair, new elections have taken place and the rightfully elected government has taken power, it looks like the Egyptian people have brought an end to 30 years of oppression.
In my book, this is the most awesome and inspiring demonstration of the power that the masses have when fighting for what’s right since Tiananmen Square.
For 30 years, the Egyptian people lived in fear of their government and the police. On January 25, thousands of them took to the streets to deliver a clear message: they had had enough.
Every one of the demonstrators was risking being beaten, jailed or worse. And while the final chapter of the uprising won’t be written until free and fair, new elections have taken place and the rightfully elected government has taken power, it looks like the Egyptian people have brought an end to 30 years of oppression.
In my book, this is the most awesome and inspiring demonstration of the power that the masses have when fighting for what’s right since Tiananmen Square.
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Happy Thanksgiving
Gregg Lombardi - Executive Director
Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. There’s pretty much no pretense or commercialization to it. It’s a great time to relax with family or friends and test out your talents in the kitchen. I also like to take some time during the holiday to think about all of the things I have to be thankful for.
In these times of partisan bickering, it’s easy to lose track of the fact that, even after the economic downturn, we as Americans in the 21st century are among the wealthiest and most fortunate people to have ever walked the planet (although we are sometimes not all that great about sharing that wealth among ourselves). Things that we take for granted, including a warm, dry place to sleep at night, aisle after aisle of food in the grocery store, abundant clean water and indoor plumbing remain luxuries for many. I am thankful for those things.
I am also thankful for the opportunity to work at a great organization with lots of wonderful staff members. And most of all, I am thankful for my wife and two sons, each of whom bring tremendous joy into my life.
I find that when I take the time to think about these simple joys in my life, it makes me appreciate them all the more. It’s an exercise that I would recommend to anyone. With that, I wish you and yours a wonderful Thanksgiving.
Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. There’s pretty much no pretense or commercialization to it. It’s a great time to relax with family or friends and test out your talents in the kitchen. I also like to take some time during the holiday to think about all of the things I have to be thankful for.
In these times of partisan bickering, it’s easy to lose track of the fact that, even after the economic downturn, we as Americans in the 21st century are among the wealthiest and most fortunate people to have ever walked the planet (although we are sometimes not all that great about sharing that wealth among ourselves). Things that we take for granted, including a warm, dry place to sleep at night, aisle after aisle of food in the grocery store, abundant clean water and indoor plumbing remain luxuries for many. I am thankful for those things.
I am also thankful for the opportunity to work at a great organization with lots of wonderful staff members. And most of all, I am thankful for my wife and two sons, each of whom bring tremendous joy into my life.
I find that when I take the time to think about these simple joys in my life, it makes me appreciate them all the more. It’s an exercise that I would recommend to anyone. With that, I wish you and yours a wonderful Thanksgiving.
Monday, November 1, 2010
A journey of a 1,000 miles begins with a single step.
Gregg Lombardi - Executive Director
Today marks the start of the Legal Aid Wellness Committee’s Million Step Challenge and I’m psyched.
The committee has challenged Legal Aid’s staff to walk one million steps between today and the end of March. That translates into about 500 total miles or 3 miles per day. The committee has also created alternative exercise options so as many staff members as possible can participate. It’s an intimidating challenge, but I’m very pleased that nearly a third of our staff has taken it on.
I myself am just back from my first 2,500 steps. I know that trying to keep up with a 3 mile per day pace is going to be tough, but I also know from my past experience with exercise, it’s going to be well worth it. When I make myself take time to exercise, I find that, not only am I healthier, but I also find that I have a lot more energy and just feel better about the world.
Swimming is my exercise of choice and there have been lots of days, especially when it’s cold outside, that I’ve gotten to the pool at 7:00 at night, dead tired wondering if I could make it even a hundred yards. By the time I get out of the pool, however, I feel like a new person. Walking also has the added benefit of being an excellent opportunity to socialize with friends, co-workers and loved ones.
So, I’ve got 997,500 steps to go and I’m going to do my best to enjoy every one of them. Many thanks to the committee for giving us this challenge.
--Gregg
PS Below you will find a picture of one of my favorite walking partners.
Today marks the start of the Legal Aid Wellness Committee’s Million Step Challenge and I’m psyched.
The committee has challenged Legal Aid’s staff to walk one million steps between today and the end of March. That translates into about 500 total miles or 3 miles per day. The committee has also created alternative exercise options so as many staff members as possible can participate. It’s an intimidating challenge, but I’m very pleased that nearly a third of our staff has taken it on.
I myself am just back from my first 2,500 steps. I know that trying to keep up with a 3 mile per day pace is going to be tough, but I also know from my past experience with exercise, it’s going to be well worth it. When I make myself take time to exercise, I find that, not only am I healthier, but I also find that I have a lot more energy and just feel better about the world.
Swimming is my exercise of choice and there have been lots of days, especially when it’s cold outside, that I’ve gotten to the pool at 7:00 at night, dead tired wondering if I could make it even a hundred yards. By the time I get out of the pool, however, I feel like a new person. Walking also has the added benefit of being an excellent opportunity to socialize with friends, co-workers and loved ones.
So, I’ve got 997,500 steps to go and I’m going to do my best to enjoy every one of them. Many thanks to the committee for giving us this challenge.
--Gregg
PS Below you will find a picture of one of my favorite walking partners.
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