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TO OUR DONORS AND FRIENDS: The events and challenges of 2008 were extreme and dramatic. We began the year adding staff with expertise in Immigration Law, allowing us to expand our work into a new area of law. Our ability to gain the trust of the immigrant community led to contacts from victims of illegal labor trafficking. With our help they were able to escape from a brutal employer. We then worked with ICE to obtain legal status and financial assistance for our clients and filed a federal lawsuit on their behalf against the local business seeking, among other things, the overtime wages to which they were entitled for the long hours they worked. In May, we were awarded a two-year grant from the State Commission on Child Protection Advocacy to set up a model project for children involved in abuse/neglect cases. The Child and Youth Advocacy Project that was created is a team approach to representing children, including social workers and educational advocates. The foreclosure crisis resulted in an enormous increase in cases involving tenants being evicted from foreclosed properties. Our advocates were instrumental in working with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to change their policies on evicting tenants during foreclosures. Our efforts attracted considerable state, local, national and world media coverage. Our spring 2008 Equal Access to Justice Event at Café Bottega honored three long time supporters of LAA: James Greenfield, Harry Wexler and William Graustein. In November we hosted our first New Haven Arts and Crafts event at Wilbur Cross High School. Unfortunately, the national economic downturn has had a devastating impact on legal services programs throughout Connecticut. The real estate downturn and the drop in interest rates caused a huge drop in IOLTA revenues. In November, we were informed that IOLTA funding would be cut by 50% as of January 1st. In order to avoid the devastating impact of attorney layoffs on our clients, our attorneys agreed to a 20% salary decrease between January 1st and July 1st of 2009. We did have to eliminate three paraprofessional positions. Because of the projected deficit that we still faced, our three most junior attorneys, including our experienced immigration attorney, left to find other employment. Despite these adverse conditions, the community support from individual donors and foundations has been tremendous, and we are working to find new ways to provide legal services to clients that will increase our efficiency and maintain our mission. It has been the perfect storm of increasing client demand and decrease of resources. As always, it is the generosity and support, financial and otherwise, of our friends which enable us to continue to provide these much needed services to our clients. We thank you all most sincerely. Diane Polan, President, LAA Board of Directors Burt Cohen, Co-Chairperson, Friends Board of Directors Patricia R. Kaplan, Executive Director |
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