Meet Your Community Partner! |
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How Hunger Coalition and Legal Aid Work Together
The Hunger Coalition partners with Legal Aid Society of San Diego to help hundreds of San Diegans who face significant barriers to enrollment each year by elevating case issues to San Diego County HHSA for resolution. In cases that cannot be resolved administratively, the Hunger Coalition relies upon Legal Aid’s team to support individuals in the CalFresh appeals process. Throughout the years, the Hunger Coalition and Legal Aid San Diego have worked together to identify systemic barriers and collaborate to support San Diego County HHSA in strengthening its business processes, making it easier for people to navigate the system, and reducing the number of people who fall through the cracks. Many of these collaborative efforts are shared at the CalFresh Task Force, a table facilitated by the Hunger Coalition, which brings together nonprofits, community-based organizations, and the County of San Diego HHSA to identify barriers and opportunities to collaborate. Legal Aid has been a member of the Task Force and provides regular, critical legal insight on the interpretation of CalFresh state and federal regulations. The Hunger Coalition team deeply values Legal Aid’s strong membership in the CalFresh Task Force and the vital role LASSD plays to make CalFresh easier to navigate for those facing hunger.
History
San Diego Hunger Coalition (SDHC) has led coordinated action to end hunger since 1974, when a group of concerned citizens came together to coordinate regional Thanksgiving food drives. A year later, SDHC helped pass a California bill to allow grocery stores to donate damaged food, which later became the nation’s first food donation liability law. In 1977, SDHC helped start the San Diego Food Bank. In the 80’s, recognizing that the charitable response alone cannot end hunger, SDHC shifted its focus to maximizing utilization of federal nutrition programs in San Diego County.
CalFresh Focus
In 2006, when news hit that San Diego County had one of the worst SNAP participation rates of any metropolitan area in the nation at 26%, the San Diego Hunger Coalition created the CalFresh Task Force (CFTF) to bring advocates, County leadership, County eligibility workers, and community-based application assistors together to identify barriers to enrollment and work collaboratively on solutions. Prior to COVID-19, our region’s estimated CalFresh utilization rate was just over 60%. The CFTF continues to thrive today, and the Hunger Coalition’s CalFresh Team facilitates 4 meetings each month in the North, South, Central and East regions, as well as quarterly countywide meetings, with over 40 different CBOs regularly participating. In addition to facilitating the CFTF and incubating innovative solutions from that table that can later be scaled up countywide (like the Same Day Service model or “CalFresh in a Day”), SDHC manages a major state CalFresh Outreach Program contract that is one of the only funding sources available for CalFresh outreach and application assistance. This year, SDHC provided more than $550K to its 12 different subcontracting agencies, which include 6 FQHCs, 4 social service agencies, and both local food banks. SDHC provides a 3-hour CalFresh application assistance training that all CBOs must complete in order to be able to call the County’s CBO Access Line. Every year, SDHC trains between 200-300 staff and volunteers from more than 20 organizations countywide.
SDHC also tracks case issues of and advocates on behalf of eligible clients who have been erroneously denied benefits or are facing County systemic barriers in enrolling or maintaining their benefits. SDHC meets monthly with County Eligibility Operations to alert them to trends indicating where process changes, additional training of eligibility staff and/or clarity on state and federal program guidelines are needed. SDHC also advocates for CalFresh/SNAP improvements at the state and federal level and then works to ensure that legislative wins are actually implemented on the ground. Like LASSD, the Hunger Coalition is also a reviewer of all new County CalFresh program guides that summarize state and federal program changes.
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Jaqueline (“Jaque”) Hess, CalFresh Program Manager
Phone: (619) 501-7917 Ext. 105
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Devin Ton, CalFresh Coordinator
Phone: 619-501-7917
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Judy Davis and her neighbors
set up a food pantry!
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Judy (Fair Housing) has worked at LASSD for 39 years and 17 days, as of today! Not only has she spent decades assisting our housing clients navigate the system, she also joins her neighbors to help their community members who are in need. I guess you could say she loves to help people outside of work. |
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"One neighbor has taken on the task to have the pantry on her property. We all lend a hand as it takes a good portion of the day to stock and make sure we have what others are in need of. It started off with books over 6 months ago. As Covid has lingered and our community struggles, we opened it up to canned foods. Her husband has been able to reach out to stores in the area, which supply a portion of fresh fruits and vegetables. We have also added in toys this year for the holiday. For Halloween, we put out costumes for folks. as money is tight. For Thanksgiving, we were able to donate turkeys for about 10 families. The neighbor who keeps the pantry on her property keeps all food and donations which she receives from people via the 'Nextdoor' app. She posts what is needed for the pantry and keeps us informed to what is running out from the pantry. She will post perhaps need sauces, need pasta, need soups, need baby food, etc. If you are on the app and want to donate you just do. This project does not include our clients directly, but some of the stories she tells me about could be our clients. Students, parents, folks not being able to pay rent, pay bills. No questions are asked of the recipients. It is so nice to be able to help folks out." - Judy Davis
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Brittany Boiko: Why CalFresh Matters To Me! |
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Thank you, Brittany (Income Maintenance/ Special Education), for sharing your experiences with us and giving us your insight on WHY the Cal Fresh program is so important to our clients. Brittany helps families with CalFresh appeals, among other things. #justicebeginshere
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In the beginning of this year, CCHEA (Consumer Center for Health Education & Advocacy) received a referral from one of our Legal Aid housing attorneys who was representing Aura in an unlawful detainer case. She is a Spanish-speaking 81-year-old woman who fell behind in her rent and was being evicted. The attorney made a settlement offer in court and arranged for a move out date two months after. We were asked to help her find housing. This was especially difficult as her monthly income was only $1,088.
One of our bilingual case managers started working with Aura by coordinating an intake at Serving Seniors and helping her complete the application for Low-income Senior Housing. Working together, Aura was able to move into Potiker City Heights thus avoiding becoming homeless.
We also took a photo of Aura as a special Thanksgiving meal was delivered to her by our CCHEA case manager Joanna. It was the day before Thanksgiving and the case manager felt that a personal visit would improve her spirits. Aura expressed her deep gratitude for the food and for us caring about her.
Thanks to the West Foundation for allowing us to help seniors feel less isolated during this health crisis.
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Fanny Cherng featured in
"Voices of NCLC" Social Media Campaign
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"It might sound strange, but I think of bankruptcy law as 'happy law' because you’re helping people eliminate debt and get a fresh start in life. I started working in bankruptcy law right after I graduated law school in 2009, and after almost ten years running my own practice, moved into the Consumer Protection Unit at Legal Aid Society of San Diego. A few months ago I drafted a bankruptcy petition for someone who came into the self-help clinic, and they visited recently to tell me that they had not only been able to successfully discharge their debts, but had also landed a job at the Federal District Court building across the street from our office. Stories like that are so cool to hear, and really illustrate how something as simple as helping a client draft a petition or walking them through the filing process can have a ripple effect that helps them turn their life around. Consumer law is a great field if you’re the kind of person who values life-long learning. You could be an expert in one particular area, but you might get a case tomorrow that touches on another area you’re not familiar with, so you constantly have opportunities – and needs – to broaden your knowledge and your network. And of course, you get to help people navigate what can be a really scary and confusing process and time in their life, and help them come out the other side with the tools they need to put their lives back together." GO, FANNY!
Fanny (Consumer Protection) used to have her own bankruptcy law firm, and is an expert in the field. She is also a board member of the San Diego Bankruptcy Forum, who will fundraise for LASSD at their annual holiday virtual event!
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Ramesses presents to
the Pag-Asa Law Clinic
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Ramesses (Fair Housing) was invited to speak to a group of board members, attorneys, and volunteers of a non-profit legal clinic called Pag-Asa Law Clinic. "We discussed fair housing discrimination issues, specifically regarding national origin, immigration/citizenship status, and primary language. We also discussed how COVID has impacted housing discrimination (increase in anti-Asian-American incidents) and tenants’ rights (AB3088 update).
I’m speaking with Interfaith as well as Alliance for Regional Solutions North County to hold additional events that will likely take place after the new year. They will be held to educate client service providers at these organizations on the fair housing eviction rights during Covid-19, available to their respective service populations." Thank you for repping LASSD so well, Ramesses!
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What to do during the shutdown? |
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Looking for a nice park to walk in this weekend? Here is a lost of parks currently open to the public.
Click on each park to see new restrictions:
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San Diego County
Regional Shutdown
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Members of the same household are encouraged to maintain physical and mental health by safely going
to a park, a beach, hike, walk, or bike ride with members of their own household. Californians are also encouraged to keep connected with loved ones virtually. For more information for the Regional Stay Home Order, click on the image below.
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Don't Forget to Wear Your Mask! |
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LASSD has taken action to keep its employees safe, including continued implementation of masks and other PPE in the workplace! |
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Adriana (Individual Rights) reminds us to wear our masks. Check out her cool mask! |
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Happy Birthday this week to...
Rodolfo Anaya Luna (CRT): 12/10
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Ideas for the Next Staff Newsletter? |
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We love your ideas!
Do you have a story about your family you'd like to share with your coworkers? If you have any ideas. Email your Development Director, Lorena at Lorenas@lassd.org.
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