Dennis Harrison, Author at Jacksonville Area Legal Aid, Inc.

Banks lobbyists want to slash funding for legal support programs

Banks lobbyists want to slash funding for legal support programs

With Florida's 2025 legislative approaching, banks have begun a campaign to cut funding for legal programs that help veterans, domestic violence victims, and families facing eviction and foreclosure. As Florida lawmakers prepare for their next legislative session, the banking industry is lobbying to cut funding for legal programs that support veterans, victims of domestic violence, and families facing eviction and foreclosure. Just days after the end of the 2024 elections, records show a group of banks hired two lobbying firms in Tallahassee to push for the cuts when Florida’s Republican-controlled Legislature convenes early next year for the 2025 session.

Dennis Harrison2024-12-20T17:39:21-05:00December 20th, 2024|Fair Housing, News|

JALA client learns an important lesson about signing agreements without first reading them

JALA client learns an important lesson about signing agreements without first reading them

“John” applied for a HVAC technician position that was advertised online. Within hours of submitting his application, he was having a phone

Dennis Harrison2024-12-19T13:05:49-05:00December 19th, 2024|Client Stories|

Saving A Home – The Power of JALA Teamwork

Saving A Home – The Power of JALA Teamwork

After years of caring for her grandmother, Shateal Redding Johnston inherited the Jacksonville home her grandmother had built in 1959 and lived in until she died at the age of 95. But soon Redding found herself at risk of losing the home to foreclosure because of fraud perpetrated by relatives. By the time the case came to Jacksonville Area Legal Aid, it took two attorneys and a housing counselor to unravel and rectify a range of issues to stop the foreclosure. “They took the time to listen, to understand, and to come up with a great plan to allow me to be able to save my grandmother’s home,” Redding said. Redding had taken over the guardianship of her grandmother, Susie Mae Foster, after family members stole Foster’s money and forged her name on a reverse mortgage on the home. The foreclosure was based upon this presumably illegally obtained Home Equity Conversion Mortgage. A little over a month before her foreclosure trial, Redding turned to JALA for help. “The Court knocked Ms. Redding’s defenses relating to the fraud right away,” said JALA Attorney Lynn Drysdale. “The Court determined she could not raise the forgery and lack of mental capacity. Her case looked hopeless and became even more and more hopeless as time went on.”

Dennis Harrison2024-12-19T12:58:27-05:00December 19th, 2024|Fair Housing, Shelter for Elders|

Lawyers, Judges, and Civic Leaders Rally for Jacksonville Seniors in 2024 Freed to Run Challenge

Lawyers, Judges, and Civic Leaders Rally for Jacksonville Seniors in 2024 Freed to Run Challenge

The 2024 Freed to Run Challenge November 23-24 benefiting Jacksonville Area Legal Aid’s Shelter for Elders initiative is drawing lawyers, judges, business leaders, and other civic-minded athletes to help fund an endowment for housing-related legal assistance for indigent seniors. The runners and walkers will complete half-mile laps around the Duval County Courthouse in a period of either 12 or 24 hours beginning November 23, or run a 5k on November 24, while the cyclists will bike from the St. Johns County Courthouse to the Duval County Courthouse November 24. All are gathering financial pledges for JALA.

Dennis Harrison2024-11-10T11:13:35-05:00November 10th, 2024|Freed To Run, News, Shelter for Elders|

Freed to Run Challenge includes 35-mile bicycle ride

Freed to Run Challenge includes 35-mile bicycle ride

In addition to the 12- and 24-hour relay walks and runs around the Duval County Courthouse, the Freed to Run Challenge fundraiser next month for Jacksonville Area Legal Aid also features a bicycle ride from St. Augustine to Jacksonville. Cyclists will begin pedaling at 8:30 a.m. Nov. 24 at the RichardO. Watson Judicial Center parking lot at 4010 Lewis Speedway in St. Augustine. The 35-mile route starts in St. Johns County, heading north on U.S. 1 and then turning onto Atlantic Boulevard and San Marco Boulevard in Duval County. The route crosses the Acosta Bridge and then follows Forsyth and Clay streets to the finish line on the lawn at the courthouse at 501 W. Adams St. Transportation back to St. Augustine for riders and their bikes is provided at about 1 p.m. The event benefits JALA’s Shelter for Elders Endowment, which supports the growing number of people over 60 seeking help with housing issues like reverse mortgage foreclosures, scams, wrongful evictions and discrimination.

Dennis Harrison2024-10-23T12:48:53-04:00October 23rd, 2024|Freed To Run, News|

United Way announces $4.4 million in grant funding

United Way announces $4.4 million in grant funding

United Way of Northeast Florida is thrilled to announce the grant recipients of its $4.4 million investment in providing basic needs and improving the financial well-being of families across Northeast Florida. Nearly three dozen programs received funding for an 18-month grant cycle to support meaningful outcomes that will improve economic mobility across our region. The grantees were selected following a request for proposals (RFP) process that launched in early July and closed in mid-August. The $4.4 million grant pool is made possible by contributions from thousands of donors, corporations and foundations who donate to United Way annually. To submit a proposal, an organization was required to be a 501(c)3 nonprofit leading programs that fall within United Way's focus areas of basic needs and/or financial well-being. Moreover, the applicants must serve residents in Baker, Clay, Duval, Nassau and northern St. Johns counties.

Dennis Harrison2024-10-21T09:52:14-04:00October 20th, 2024|Fair Housing, News|

JALA debuting clay shoot fundraiser

JALA debuting clay shoot fundraiser

The Oct. 11 event is open to all to raise money to support civil legal aid in Northeast Florida. The inaugural Jacksonville Area Legal Aid Clay Shoot Fundraiser to Drive Justice Forward is Oct. 11 at Jacksonville Clay Target Sports, 12125 New Berlin Road. Open to all levels of experience, four-person teams may register for $1,200; individual participants are $325, including ammunition, clay targets and the post-event awards ceremony and celebration. Visit jaxclayshoot.com for more information and to register.

Dennis Harrison2024-09-23T10:54:04-04:00September 23rd, 2024|News|

Jacksonville Area Legal Aid recognized as one of the Best Places to Work by the Jacksonville Business Journal

Jacksonville Area Legal Aid recognized as one of the Best Places to Work by the Jacksonville Business Journal

Jacksonville Area Legal Aid (JALA) has been honored as one of the Best Places to Work in 2024 by the Jacksonville Business Journal. “We appreciate the Jacksonville Business Journal for recognizing what a wonderful work environment we have at JALA,” said JALA President and CEO Jim Kowalski. “We do all we can to give our employees the tools they need to succeed and feel satisfied at work and in life, and we place a high value on collaboration, inclusion, mentoring and support.” With 81 employees, JALA is a nonprofit law firm focused on delivering economic, social, and housing justice to low-income and at-risk individuals and families on the First Coast. Many of its attorneys and staff members have won statewide and national awards for their work in the public interest.

Dennis Harrison2024-09-03T11:32:56-04:00September 3rd, 2024|News|

Pulitzer-prize-winning journalist and author Andrea Elliott to headline Jacksonville Area Legal Aid event honoring Pajcic & Pajcic

Pulitzer-prize-winning journalist and author Andrea Elliott to headline Jacksonville Area Legal Aid event honoring Pajcic & Pajcic

Robert J. Beckham Equal Justice Awards Celebration Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024 Marriott Jacksonville Downtown JACKSONVILLE, Fla., Aug. 6, 2024 – Pulitzer-prize-winning journalist and author Andrea Elliott will deliver the keynote address at Jacksonville Area Legal Aid’s 22nd Equal Justice Awards Sept. 18 at the Marriott Jacksonville Downtown. Elliott has documented the lives of poor Americans, Muslim immigrants and other people on the margins of power. She is an investigative reporter for The New York Times and the author of Invisible Child: Poverty, Survival, and Hope in an American City, which won the 2022 Pulitzer Prize in General Nonfiction. Elliott also was awarded a 2007 Pulitzer Prize for feature writing. She is currently a Writer in Residence at Princeton University.

Dennis Harrison2024-09-23T11:07:48-04:00August 28th, 2024|Equal Justice Awards, News, Partners in Justice Spotlight, Pro Bono|

JALA helps veteran get discharge upgrade that restores his benefits and his pride

JALA helps veteran get discharge upgrade that restores his benefits and his pride

At 17,“James Gadbury,” not his real name, enlisted in the Marines, drawn by the desire to challenge himself and step out of his comfort zone. During his three years of service, he was stationed at Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay in Georgia, a stressful environment where understaffing left him little time for rest, and where a toxic command culture brushed aside his mental and physical health concerns. After an incident involving other Marines occurred in his presence, Gadbury took responsibility for not intervening, which resulted in him serving time in the brig and receiving a demotion in rank. Although it was the only blemish on an otherwise stellar record of service, his plea agreement unexpectedly culminated in an “other-than-honorable” discharge, leaving him devastated and grappling with guilt and grief over his lost military career. Unfortunately, such instances are not uncommon, and the consequences can be life-altering.

Dennis Harrison2024-08-13T17:08:54-04:00August 13th, 2024|Client Stories, Veterans Services|

Dennis.Harrison@jaxlegalaid.org

About Dennis Harrison