An Introduction to CLASI’s New Deputy Director

My name is Sarah Rhine, and I recently took on the role of Deputy Director at Community Legal Aid Society, Inc. (CLASI). I’m so honored to be part of this work and to have the chance to share some of our clients’ stories with you today, stories made possible by your support for the Combined Campaign for Justice.

I first wanted to take a moment to tell you a bit about my background and what drew me to legal aid. I was raised on a farm and learned the value of hard work, but also the reality of struggle early in life. Growing up in rural poverty, I went to a high school where almost half of my classmates didn’t graduate, and only a few went on to college. I attended Temple University (because I wanted to flee farm life) and then University of Maryland School of Law in Baltimore. I started my career as an attorney at the Homeless Persons Representation Project, moved on to work with Disability Rights Maryland, and, when my family moved to Dover over ten years ago, worked at the Maryland Center for Legal Assistance on the Eastern Shore.

Five years ago, I decided to take the Delaware bar (not a small task!) only because I saw what incredible work the legal services organizations in Delaware were doing. I wanted to be part of this very unique partnership among legal services organizations, a cornerstone of which is the Combined Campaign for Justice. And, I wanted to be part of the Delaware legal community. I thank you for welcoming me.

I was drawn to this field because I saw how deeply the law affects the lives of everyday people—whether someone keeps their home, stays safe from abuse or has the stability needed to support their family—and, frankly, I feel more passionate about this work today than when I chose legal aid as my profession 20 years ago.

But, law only works for our clients if they can navigate a complex—if we are honest, WAY too complex—legal system. Too many individuals face serious legal problems without a lawyer, without guidance, and without anyone standing beside them. With your support—whether through a donation, attending a CCJ event, or simply spreading awareness about civil legal aid—CLASI and our partners at Delaware Volunteer Legal Services and Legal Services Corporation of Delaware are working together to change these circumstances and increase our capacity to provide legal assistance to those who need it most.

Here are a few quick stories about what that support looks like in practice.

Not long ago, we worked with a client who was facing eviction. We will call her Ms. Smith. Ms. Smith has a congenital heart disease. She is on the transplant list and has to attend every doctor’s visit that is scheduled, or she will be removed from the list. As she waits for a donor, she has a heart pump that is both inside and outside of her body. If the pump on the outside of her body gets wet, she will die. Ms. Smith was terrified to leave her home when it was raining. She asked her landlord for a designated parking spot close to her apartment and was denied. She then parked close to the apartment on a day it was raining in a reserved spot and received a lease violation and was facing eviction.

With a legal advocate by her side, Ms. Smith was able to understand her rights, get a designated parking spot, navigate the court process, and remain stably housed. That stability meant she could avoid the consequences of eviction, which, for her, would be catastrophic.

CLASI recently won a case for an unhoused family that had to stay in a hotel—we will call them the Jones family. The Jones family had a service animal, a dog, that provided an alert when their child with a seizure disorder was going to have a seizure, and the dog was trained to get help for the child when they had a seizure. When the Joneses moved into the hotel, the family identified that they had a service animal. They lived in the hotel for a while and then they were told that they could not have the service animal and remain in the hotel. They had to choose between keeping the service animal and homelessness. So, they were forced to rehome the dog with another family with a child with a seizure disorder.

With a legal aid attorney by their side, the Jones family could assert their rights, allege that the hotel acted illegally and, ultimately, win a case against the hotel. They were just awarded a $20,000 settlement, which will be enough to purchase and train a new service animal.

A client, we will call him Mr. Williams, contacted us because his disability benefits were terminated. Mr. Williams was without benefits for 8 months through no fault of his own. The reason for the termination of benefits was that the Social Security Administration (SSA) alleged he was engaged in substantial work activity and that he owed the administration $48,556.70. Mr. Williams had filed an appeal and went to SSA several times before seeking legal assistance because he thought he could navigate the system himself. However, SSA continued to claim that Mr. Williams had been exceeding the amount that he could work and still retain benefits, even when Mr. Williams could show that part of the income SSA was counting did not belong to him. His legal services attorney went to his SSA appointment with him a few weeks ago. The worker at the SSA appointment stated she did not typically handle this type of case, and that was not the reason for the appointment, but ultimately agreed to help. Just last week, he received a notice of a favorable decision that he is not engaged in any work activity that would terminate his benefits, and his income and work record was updated. It takes 30 days for the payment center to update a work record so, in the meantime, his legal services attorney helped him to get a one-month critical payment.

With a legal aid attorney by his side, Mr. Williams will receive the benefit he is entitled to. He will be able to pay his rent, obtain medical care, and buy food. Without legal assistance, Mr. Williams would have suffered severe consequences that were the result of bureaucratic mismanagement.

Clients with stories like Ms. Smith, the Jones family, and Mr. Williams present every day in legal aid offices. A senior avoids losing their home to a scam. A survivor of domestic violence obtains a protective order. A family resolves a benefits issue that allows them to afford food or medicine. Or a child who was wrongly disciplined by a school is able to continue to receive an education.

However, our legal aid agencies are also committed to doing work that impacts our community in larger ways beyond an individual client’s case.

Recently, a client who uses a wheelchair for mobility, we will call her Ms. Green, came to us with a discrimination issue. Ms. Green was told that she had to buy two tickets to see a show at a venue so that she could bring a support person to help her navigate the space. CLASI wrote a demand letter to the venue and subsequently worked with the venue to change their policy. The policy now states that, if a person uses a wheelchair and has a support person, the support person will receive a ticket for free. This action will positively impact all of our neighbors who need help navigating public spaces and ensure that these spaces are open and accessible to all.

And, finally, Delaware’s legal aid agencies are able to improve the government systems that impact our clients. Through advocacy with federal, state, and local governments, state agencies, and in Dover in Legislative Hall, we are able to make a true impact by bringing the knowledge we have gained in direct service to bear on the systems that have failed our clients.

For example, working with the legislature and the Family Court, we recently formed a new Family Representation Unit at CLASI to represent parents who are faced with the devastating loss of their parental rights. These families are now being served in a way that is consistent and comprehensive—with expert legal representation and holistic social work and peer mentor support to help ensure families can stay together whenever possible.

The issues that Delaware’s three legal aid agencies work on are not abstract. They involve real people in our community whose lives change because a legal aid advocate stood with them—change made possible by donors like you.

Your contributions to the Combined Campaign for Justice do not just fund programs. Your willingness to show up and to invest in this work means more than you may realize. Because of you, people in our community have access to justice. You are helping us create fairness where there might otherwise be none. Together, we are ensuring that justice isn’t only available to those who can afford it. And literally saving lives.

So, on behalf of the clients whose stories you may never hear, and the advocates who do this work every day—thank you. Thank you for believing in this mission, for supporting access to justice, and for being part of a community that believes the law should work for everyone.