Empire Justice Center

Housing and tenant advocacy (see schedule o):since 2012 empire justice has managed more than 60 contracts with legal services and housing counseling agencies working in foreclosure prevention outside of nyc, in addition to providing extensive training and technical assistance, as part of the nys office of the attorney general's homeownership protection program (hopp). As a direct services provider working in foreclosure with funding through hopp, united way and the city of rochester, empire justice helped more than 100 monroe county families facing foreclosure, avoiding or delaying loss of the home in almost half of all cases. With state funding, housing advocates in rochester work under the tenant defense project to identify and implement systemic solutions for tenants facing eviction with telesca center for justice partners, the legal aid society of rochester, lawny and justcause. On long island, advocates helped more than 120 families facing eviction in 2024 with emergency rental assistance program funding through the office of temporary and disability assistance (otda), through a subcontract with legal services of long island.

Public benefits and dap (see schedule o):empire justice contracts with new york state to provide training, support and technical assistance to disability advocacy program (dap) grantees, delivering 16 trainings and educating more than 650 statewide dap advocates in 2024. As a dap grantee, empire justice provides legal assistance to people in western new york who have been inappropriately denied or terminated from federal disability and supplemental security income programs, returning $308k to the state in interim assistance in 2024. Public benefits advocates help new york families access food stamps and cash assistance and navigate the fair hearing process to challenge decisions about their benefits. Empire justice is working to protect each of the 50,000 recipients of temporary assistance and supplemental nutrition assistance program (snap) benefits through ongoing legal action. Its aim is to uphold the rights of applicants and recipients of temporary assistance benefits to receive timely fair hearing decisions. State and federal regulations as well as principles of due process require that otda issue fair hearing decisions promptly - 60 days from request for snap benefits and 90 days from request for temporary assistance. Otda data reveals that tens of thousands of fair hearings were overdue for a decision.

Civil rights and health: empire justice protects the civil rights of people with disabilities and the d/deaf and hard-of-hearing communities, leveraging the law to combat discrimination and assisting more than 300 people in 2024. Empire justice provides extensive training and technical assistance to advocates across nys who help low-income clients access healthcare, conducting 12 trainings and reaching 725 advocates statewide, while also providing direct services, working with 200 new yorkers to navigate and maximize their health insurance benefits in 2024.

Education consumer debt: empire justice is also contracted by the community service society to bring the education debt consumer assistance program (edcap) to the capital region, engaging in extensive outreach and providing tailored assistance to almost 175 clients on their student loan repayment options in 2024.

Other/general: this consists of various grants and contracts, fees, and program income that are used to provide a range of services and undertake various activities related to the provision of legal services, advocacy, training and technical assistance.