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Recent News & Articles

Q&A: Economic Impact Payments, Unemployment, and Outreach to Unhoused Bay Area Residents

| By BayLegal
Categories: Homepage, News
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The San Francisco Chronicle last week published this useful Q&A on public benefits and emergency relief linked to the COVID-19 pandemic. Business columnist Kathleen Pender reached out to several Bay Area organizations serving public benefits recipients and unhoused people for answers on Economic Impact Payments, unemployment, and related topics. BayLegal Regional Managing Attorney for SSI …

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Court of Appeal Ruling Could Invalidate Thousands of Driver’s License Suspensions

| By BayLegal
Categories: Homepage, News
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE June 4, 2020 Media Contact: Taylor Brady, Bay Area Legal Aid, Tbrady@baylegal.org, (510) 250-5234   ***PRESS RELEASE***  Court of Appeal Ruling Could Invalidate Thousands of Driver’s License Suspensions SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA —The California Court of Appeal ruled that the Department of Motor Vehicles cannot suspend the licenses of drivers who fail to …

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Updates on CARES Act Stimulus Payments: Fraud Alert and Information on Direct Payments

| By BayLegal
Categories: Homepage, News
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A purple-gloved hand lays on top of a check from the U.S. Treasury
Fraud Alert The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) informs the public that there have been reports of nursing homes and assisted living facilities requiring residents to sign over their Economic Impact Payments. According to the FTC: [T]hose economic impact payments are considered tax credits and tax credits don’t count as “resources” for federal benefits programs like …

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Preventing Homelessness Among Former Foster Youth: BayLegal and Allied Organizations Present Guidelines for Counties

| By BayLegal
Categories: Advocacy, News
| Tags: ,
Seven young people lounge against a wall smiling
Bay Area Legal Aid, together with the Youth Law Center and John Burton Advocates for Youth, has developed guidelines for counties to mitigate the increased risk of homelessness and housing instability among youth who exited foster care after age 18. Youth who are facing exit from the Transitional Housing Program-Plus (THP-Plus) during the current public …

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BayLegal Launches New Resource Page for Youth During the COVID-19 Pandemic

| By BayLegal
Categories: Homepage, News
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Seven young people lounge against a wall smiling
BayLegal’s Youth Justice unit is working throughout the COVID-19 pandemic to continue providing legal advice and representation to youth and caregivers. As part of this work, our team has launched a new web page, Resources for Youth During the COVID-19 Pandemic. We encourage young people and caregivers with questions about legal rights relating to distance …

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URGENT News About Economic Impact Payments: May 5th Deadline to Claim Dependent Child Payments This Year

| By BayLegal
Categories: Homepage, News
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A purple-gloved hand lays on top of a check from the U.S. Treasury
May 5 is the final day for SSI recipients who did not file a 2018 or 2019 tax return to claim their dependent children on the IRS non-filers’ web tool in order to receive the additional $500 per qualifying child this year. Those who do not file by 5/5 can still claim the $500 economic …

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Executive Director’s Blog, April 2020

| By BayLegal
Categories: eNewsletter Story, Executive Director blog, Homepage, News
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Genevieve Richardson, Executive Director
Dear Friends of BayLegal, Welcome to the April issue of our 2020 Storytelling Project, in which we reconnect with our history to show how our advocacy in the present day has continued our mission to break the cycles of family and community poverty. The Covid-19 public health crisis further exposes the institutional structures in our …

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Fighting for Second Chances: BayLegal’s Reentry Unit

| By BayLegal
Categories: 20th Anniversary, Anniversary Interview Series, Anniversary Timeline, Client Story, eNewsletter Story, News
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A cartoon figure stands behind bars with the barriers to reentry listed in red around them
“Fear isn’t holding me back as much”   Luke is the father of two boys. One is three years old, the other seven. He works for a subcontracting company in the East Bay, where he spoke to us by phone from the company’s warehouse. “We’re still working during the pandemic,” he explained. “A lot of …

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Pro Bono Spotlight: Rob Biniaz

| By BayLegal
Categories: eNewsletter Story, News
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Rob Biniaz has volunteered as a pro bono attorney with BayLegal’s Reentry Unit since 2018. He heard of our work from our partners at the East Bay Community Law Center. We asked him to share his thoughts on his experience working as a vital member of the Reentry Unit, and about what it was like …

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BayLegal’s Rebekah Evenson Appointed Alameda County Superior Court Judge

| By BayLegal
Categories: Homepage, News
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We are pleased to announce that Governor Newsom has appointed Rebekah Evenson, Bay Area Legal Aid’s Director of Litigation & Advocacy, to be an Alameda County Superior Court Judge. While saddened by the reality that Rebekah will no longer be part of our advocacy team, we know that she will be an amazing judge. Her …

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UPDATED: Urgent Notice for Social Security Recipients with Dependents

| By BayLegal
Categories: Homepage, News
| Tags: ,
A purple-gloved hand lays on top of a check from the U.S. Treasury
Take Action by May 5th to Receive Your Full Economic Impact Payment! [Update 4/24/2020: Deadline for action has been extended to May 5th]. If you are a Social Security recipient with dependents and you did not file federal income taxes for 2018 or 2019, you need to take action by TUESDAY, MAY 5TH. This revised press release …

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