VOLS Newsletter: November 2021

November 2021: Bouncing Forward

As we enter the holiday season, the theme of resilience is on our minds at VOLS.

New Yorkers are beginning to envision a caring, healthy, and vibrant future beyond the COVID-19 pandemic. Small businesses and senior centers are re-opening, school-age children are getting vaccinated, and workers are increasingly in demand. At VOLS, we are excited to be reengaging with our community partners and clients in person, while continuing to leverage remote and hybrid meetings and clinics.

Yet even as New York enters a recovery phase, we know that COVID is not yet behind us. Risks and challenges remain: the economy is still adjusting, courts face a daunting backlog, and our post-pandemic future is only just beginning to be understood.

As Volunteers of Legal Service continues to experience high demand for our legal services, we invite you to include us on your list of year-end charitable contributions. Your support enables VOLS to help New Yorkers bounce forward and emerge from the pandemic stronger than ever.

No matter what lies ahead for us in 2022, I am incredibly proud of VOLS’ network of pro bono and community partners, our staff, our volunteers, and our clients for the care and resilience we have displayed during our city’s most challenging times. Thank you for being part of the VOLS community.

Click here to donate to VOLS, toward our year-end campaign through #BrooklynGives.

In solidarity,
Abja

Abja Midha
Executive Director
Volunteers of Legal Service

DONATE TODAY TO VOLS’ YEAR-END CAMPAIGN

Feature: Focus on Small Business

The VOLS Microenterprise Project was recently featured in an interview on UNIVISION with VOLS’s Cecilia Cortés Vila, who noted that even amidst the significant economic disruption facing small business, “We have seen that this crisis has also been a great opportunity for many people trying to start a new business.” VOLS has advocated for the city’s small businesses during the pandemic, including submitting amicus briefs in support of the New York City’s Commercial Tenant Harassment Law and Guaranty Law. In a highly anticipated decision by the NY Court of Appeals last month, the laws were partially upheld on appeal. VOLS excited to welcome new Law Graduate, Celena Gonzalez, to the team and to announce the promotion of Kristen Belolan as Project Director, succeeding Arthur Kats. Our team continues partnering with volunteer attorneys, holding presentations for small business owners, and providing critical legal assistance to clients on commercial leasing in partnership with the NYC Commercial Lease Assistance program.

Updates from the VOLS Legal Team

Updates

As New York City recovers from the pandemic and economic crisis, the VOLS team reports with updates from across our legal programs:

  • The VOLS Unemployed Workers Project (UWP) reports back on our service to immigrant New Yorkers, our successful advocacy for Unemployment Insurance (UI) claimants, and our pro bono partnerships. Thousands of New Yorkers received notifications in recent months from the New York Department of Labor (DOL), informing them that they had been overpaid in UI benefits and will need to pay back significant sums. VOLS, in collaboration with the New York City UI Coalition, sent a letter (PDF) to Governor Hochul’s office regarding the DOL’s failure to provide overpayment waivers in appropriate cases. Soon after, DOL significantly increased offers to waive overpayments, alleviating hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt that low-income New Yorkers were facing. VOLS has recently served New Yorkers eligible for the State’s Excluded Workers Fund (EWF), collaborating with over a dozen immigrant-serving community organizations, the NYC Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs (MOIA), New York Public Library, and several law firms and corporate partners. Although the Fund stopped accepting new applications on October 8, VOLS continues to assist community members with their appeals and ongoing issues through the EWF application and adjudication process. VOLS is proud to extend our services to immigrant New Yorkers, providing increased access to eligible UI benefits with support from the New York Community Trust. Lastly, for 2021 National Pro Bono Week, VOLS partnered with the New York State Bar Association to conduct a UI Hearings Clinic, training over 30 attorneys who are already increasing VOLS’ capacity to serve unemployed workers.
  • The VOLS Immigration Project has continued our work with young people to secure their legal status, with the support of our pro bono, education, and community partners. We recently offered “Immigration Law 101” sessions to staff members at Riseboro (citywide) and La Jornada (Queens). Since the registration period for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haitians went into effect for a new 18-month period in August, VOLS is partnering up with Akin Gump to file applications with United States Citizenship and Immigration Services. Even as the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program’s future is pending litigation in federal courts, VOLS recently hosted DACA renewals clinic with Simpson Thacher and WilmerHale. Meanwhile, the Biden Administration and Congressional Democrats have debated how to provide the undocumented community with a pathway to permanent residency. VOLS recently joined our community partners, New York Immigration Coalition and Mixteca, to press Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer to include immigration relief in the budget reconciliation package.

Join the VOLS Community

  • If you are affiliated with a VOLS partner law firm or company and would like to volunteer, please contact your company’s pro bono counsel. If your firm or company is not already working with VOLS but you would like to, please reach out to our Pro Bono Coordinator Mai Toyohara, mtoyohara@volsprobono.org.
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Click Here to read the October 2021 VOLS Update Newsletter

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