Blog / Legal Clinic

On May 5, the Committee on Judiciary and Public Safety had its first public hearing on the “Paternity Establishment Amendment Act of 2022,” which would make it much easier to obtain court-ordered DNA testing when someone has reason to believe a mistake was made in the signing of an Acknowledgment of Paternity.

Under current law, it is difficult to get out of an Acknowledgment of Paternity, even when everyone agrees a mistake has been made and someone else is the child’s biological father. This often results in men being responsible for paying child support and having legal rights to children that are not their biological children, and with whom they may have no relationship.

Bread for the City’s Legal Clinic has been fighting these cases in court for years and our attorneys have witnessed the injustices and burdens on families that inaccurate Acknowledgements of Paternity can have. Our own Allison Miles-Lee provided testimony in support of the amendment during last week’s public hearing, sharing the story of a former Bread for the City client impacted by an inaccurate Acknowledgement of Paternity.

From April 11 – April 13, the DC Bar Pro Bono Center will offer free legal advice!

Dimitri McDaniel, Staff Attorney at Bread for the City’s Legal Clinic, testified at a Performance Oversight Hearing before the Committee on Housing & Executive Administration regarding the Department of Housing & Community Development and the Housing Production Trust Fund. Bread for the City advocates for increased transparency around the Housing Production Trust Fund through the passing of the Housing Production Trust Fund Transparency Amendment Act of 2021.

As of November of 2021, DC has reached its 200th homicide,  which has been reported to be the highest point in 18 years. 

As a person who has lost family members, former classmates and peers to gun violence, it is crucial that we allocate resources and take preventive measures to eliminate the violence within our communities.

Bread for the City and Children’s Law Center co-hosted this event to discuss their respective legal services work East of the Anacostia River and the importance of pro bono in serving D.C. neighbors.

Join us for a previously recorded Breaking Bread conversation series on housing justice in DC, including dialogue on protecting tenants’ rights, affordable housing development and preservation, public housing redevelopment, and more.

It feels good to be rewarded for your hard work, especially when it’s benefiting the community.  Congratulations to Rebecca Lindhurst, she was selected by The District of Columbia Bar Foundation as the 2021 Jerrold Scoutt Prize recipient. It’s awarded to attorneys who have a history of working in the nonprofit sector, especially those providing direct services to low-income communities. Rebecca is a Managing Attorney for Bread for the City’s housing practice and Community Lawyering Project and has worked for the organization since 2002.  I interviewed Rebecca about receiving this award and why her community work is important for residents in DC.

Many people in Washington D.C. are still struggling to find a consistent income to pay their rent and people still need assistance because of the pandemic. Last month, Bread for the City attorney, Jack Meaney  the Festival of Tenants, a community event held by the Cancel Rent Coalition in D.C., where there were informational booths, community activities, and resources for tenants. The event was held in Ward 5 to target Councilmember Kenyan R. McDuffie, who has not yet pledged his support for the coalition’s demands.