Blog / Legal Clinic

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.

Congratulations to Rebecca Lindhurst, she was selected 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.

On Thursday May 20, 2021, Bread for the City and our community members provided oral and written testimony in support of two bills currently being discussed at the D.C. City Council: the Eviction Record Sealing Authority Amendment of 2021 and the Fair Tenant Screening Act of 2021. Both pieces of legislation will benefit low-income housing applicants, particularly people of color, who regularly face discrimination and indignity during the housing application process, the eviction process, and within our criminal justice system.

Bread for the City strongly encourages the DC Council to vote “no” on Chairman Mendelson’s proposed amendment to the eviction moratorium, the Coronavirus Public Health Extension Emergency Act of 2021.  Landlords are currently prohibited from serving eviction notices and filing new eviction cases against tenants for the nonpayment of rent.

The murder trial of Derek Chauvin ended yesterday with an appropriate yet atypical measure of accountability: guilty on all counts. Still, justice is far from done. George Floyd, whose life was taken over a $20 bill, is still gone, and in the weeks leading up to today’s verdict, the murders of many others including Daunte Wright, Adam Toledo, and in the DC area, James Johnson and Dominique Williams were all committed by police officers.

BFC Attorney Tracy Davis will a panelist on Redefining Success: Empowering Client-Centered Representation. It’s about legal services lawyers juggle a variety of issues and representational challenges every day. RSVP Now!

Allison Miles-Lee, Managing Attorney at Bread for the City, was a panelist for Ayuda’s new Speaker Series: Faces of Change about Language Access and Language Justice. If you missed it, watch it here!

The Public Benefits team at Bread for the City’s Legal Clinic is working virtually to help people and families during the Pandemic. The Coronavirus has led to changes with DC’s benefits programs. Below is information about these changes, and if you have further questions or need assistance, please reach out to our Legal On-Call line at 202-386-7616.