The Justice Ball® 2005 | Saturday July 9 | The Hollywood Palladium

Buy Tickets >>    |    More Info >> Join 3,000 young professionals for THE event of the summer - The Justice Ball®. This year's event features a live performance by Grammy-winning artists Ozomatli, followed by a special performance by The Boogie Knights. You don't want to miss this wild night of music, dancing, gambling and hot summer fun. New This Year Casino area with Blackjack, Craps and Roulette Silent Auction Can't come to TJB? Make a donation to support this event >>

Carwash Workers and Bet Tzedek Staff Take State Agency to Task for Failing to Protect Carwash Workers from Abuse

Bet Tzedek staff members joined with carwash workers and other advocates to demand immediate implementation of the 18-month old Carwash Worker Law at a hearing held by the California Division of Labor Standards Enforcement (DLSE) on Tuesday, June 21. NBC-4 News covered the event, and aired a segment with Attorney Becky Monroe, Director of Bet Tzedek's Employment Rigths Project.

Monroe said, “The DLSE has failed to enforce a single provision of the Carwash Worker Law, which was to go into effect on January 1, 2004. This is a disturbing dereliction of duty that must be remedied immediately. Under the law’s three-year sunset provision, the DLSE’s inaction means a half-wasted opportunity to make meaningful change. Meanwhile, workers continue to work in unsafe and unlawful conditions.”

The Carwash Worker Law requires carwashes to register with the State Labor Commissioner and to pay a registration fee, which will be used to cover the government’s enforcement costs and to establish a restitution fund for workers who are owed unpaid wages.

Monroe and Kevin Kish, a Fellow at Valley Bet Tzedek who has focused his year-long fellowship on carwash workers’ struggles, represented Bet Tzedek at the hearing.

More about Bet Tzedek's Employment Rights Project >>

Spotlight on a Summer Law Clerk: Armin Azod

Armin Azod, who will begin his second year at Pepperdine University School of Law in August, came to Bet Tzedek as a summer clerk because he "wanted to learn more about litigation practice." Three weeks into his internship, he says "it's definitely working!"

On his first day on the job, he was given the case file of a woman with severe mental illness whom he describes as "completely incapable of any kind of self-advocacy." Armin has become the client's lifeline as he works to reinstate disability benefits that were terminated. He is busy documenting her long and difficult medical history in order to reverse the termination.

This is Armin's second tour of duty at Bet Tzedek. His first encounter with BT came when he saw BT's ad on Craig's List for volunteer German translators. Fluent in German, which was his major as a UCLA undergraduate, Armin began volunteering on the Holocaust Reparations Project, translating documents from our clients' German court proceedings.

After college, Armin worked for a major brokerage for several years. During that time, he says he "saw how people needed legal representation but weren't even aware of what they needed." That provided his motivation for law school.

But Armin's own experience as a refugee from Iran has fueled his desire to work in public interest law. He arrived in the United States in 1990, following several years spent in Europe as a displaced person with his family, who fled the fundamentalist Iranian regime five years earlier. His U.S. political asylum claim was granted in 1997.

Right now, his immediate goal is to learn as much form and procedure as possible. "With the great mentoring I'm getting from BT's senior lawyers, I'm learning a lot," he remarks. He's also doing a lot in providing critical services to someone whose life hangs in the balance. "That's what's so great about Bet Tzedek," he says, "we provide services that nobody else offers to people who need them most of all."

Additional 3,000 Seniors to be Reached Through Family Caregiver Project

What would you do if you suddenly were faced with the choice of placing your disabled or elderly loved one in an institution or caring for them at home? Often at great emotional and financial cost to themselves, 600,000 caregivers in California have made the courageous decision to keep their loved one at home.

To help these caregivers, Bet Tzedek offers the Family Caregiver Project, which educates and advocates about the many public and nonprofit resources available. The Caregiver Project reaches over 2,500 caregivers in Los Angeles County every year, and is the largest project of its kind.

Now, with assistance from the Departments of Aging of both the City and County of Los Angeles, many more caregivers can receive the information and assistance they desperately need. The Family Caregiver Project just created an easy-to-read brochure that summarizes the most important information for caregivers. The brochure is available in English, Spanish and four Asian languages. All versions of the brochures can be downloaded for free at www.bettzedek.org/publications.html.

The brochure is a key step in a new outreach effort to caregivers in the Asian/Pacific Islander communities. A grant from the Rose Hills Foundation will enable our staff to offer increased services in the San Gabriel Valley, where large numbers of Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders reside. In addition, our Family Caregiver staff will work with senior centers in Chinatown and Little Tokyo to reach new clients. Overall, Bet Tzedek hopes to reach an additional 3,000 senior citizens in Los Angeles County because of the tremendous help offered by the Rose Hills Foundation and the City and County Departments of Aging.

Bet Tzedek Stops Foreclosure Scammers

Chutzpah doesn't begin to describe a "sister act" of scam artists who defrauded two of our clients out of their homes.  Once their misdeeds were uncovered and they were arrested for theft, they used the deeds to the homes they stole as bail collateral!

But, Debra Zimmerman, one of Bet Tzedek’s home equity fraud attorneys, took care of that. 

The case began when M&M, the two sisters, contacted two women who were in foreclosure on small loans against their homes of many years.  The sisters promised to help the clients, who were unrelated to each other, get refinance loans on better terms that would pay off the foreclosing lender.  The clients signed documents, believing they were for the refinance loans.

In fact, the documents were deeds transferring the homes to the sisters.  The sisters then took out large loans that pulled all of the equity out of each home.  After paying off the foreclosure loans, the sisters then pocketed the remaining proceeds. The clients then went into foreclosure on the new loans.  They lacked title so they could not do anything to save their homes, or access the equity. 

Bet Tzedek got involved and filed lawsuits to regain title for our clients.  We were successful because of laws that protect homeowners in foreclosure.  Each client managed to re-pay the original loan that caused the foreclosure—one with a reverse mortgage, and the other with a re-structuring of the loan.

Those bail bonds that the sisters got?  Bet Tzedek got rid of those in the lawsuit as well. Fortunately for other potential victims, the sisters were prosecuted successfully.

Bet Tzedek 's Website Has a New Look!

House of Justice Stands on Firm Financial Footing Thanks to Your Support

Government funding cuts and competition for limited donor dollars have made for challenging financial times for organizations like Bet Tzedek.  Whenever faced with budget reductions, Bet Tzedek has been fortunate to rely on the strong support of its Board of Directors.  Besides setting the standard for our fundraising, the Board also guides us in developing programs and policies that effectively serve our clients and ensure the long-term financial viability of our organization. 

Support and Revenue

49.6% Donated Services & Goods 29.5% Fundraising & Contributions 8.9% Government Contracts 6.7% IOLTA, Equal Access & Other Awards 5.4% Other Income

Expenses

89.8% Program Services 7.5% Supporting Services 2.7% Fundraising

Our most recent financial figures (for the fiscal year ending August 31, 2004) tell the story of a House of Justice built on a solid foundation.  The figures also add up to an organization that continues to expand programs and plan for its future, notwithstanding the financial challenges confronting the entire non-profit sector. 

Nearly 90% of all contributions go directly toward the provision of legal services to the poor, elderly and disabled of Los Angeles County.  We invite you to participate in building this forward-looking institution by visiting our website, www.bettzedek.org, and clicking on "donate."