Maryland Legal Aid (MLA) announces one (1) full-time, two-year Equal Justice Works (EJW) Organizer Fellowship position that will work closely with MLA colleagues to implement Maryland’s statewide, ground-breaking law that will provide a right to legal assistance and representation to tenants facing eviction or termination of their housing subsidy. This EJW Fellowship is immediately available for hire.
The EJW Fellow’s work will be directly supervised by the Assistant Director of Advocacy for the Access to Counsel in Evictions (ACE) Program and overseen by the Director of Advocacy for Housing and Community Development in MLA’s Statewide Advocacy Support (SAS) Unit. This is a two-year position funded by Equal Justice Works and MLA.
General Information: As part of recent State legislation, Maryland’s low-income tenants are guaranteed counsel in evictions proceedings, and Phase I of this new right is currently being piloted in the State. MLA is well-positioned to be a leader in this statewide effort, and the organization’s success hinges on the excellent implementation of Phase 1 of the effort to provide access to counsel for those facing possible eviction or housing subsidy termination. The focus areas for year one of MLA’s ACE work are Baltimore City, Baltimore County, Prince George’s County, Frederick County and the Upper Eastern Shore. However, the ACE program will expand to cover the entire state as the phases of implementation occur over the next two years.
For this purpose, MLA seeks an organized, eager, collaborative individual as an EJW Organizer Fellow to conduct an outreach and education campaigns as part of the program’s implementation. Excellent candidates are interested in serving low-income clients, specifically addressing tenants’ needs to promote housing stability and providing tenants’ access to counsel as outlined in newly established Maryland State law. In addition, the EJW Fellow candidates will build their knowledge and skills to organize around housing injustice and learn about national best practices through trainings provided by MLA and Equal Justice Works, which is providing programmatic support and training for the EJW Attorney Fellows through its Housing Justice Program.
MLA’s and EJW’s Collaboration to Provide Access to Counsel in Evictions
To implement the work noted above, MLA has been selected by Equal Justice Works as an implementing partner of Equal Justice Works’ Housing Justice Program. Equal Justice Works is the nation’s largest facilitator of opportunities in public interest law. The Equal Justice Works Housing Justice Program is a program comprised of Attorney EJW Fellows and EJW Organizer Fellows who, over the course of a two-year EJW Fellowship term, will be part of a targeted initiative to address the justice gap in Maryland through responsive, context-specific innovations and interventions focused on housing justice. Specifically, EJW Attorney Fellows and Organizer Fellows will serve at one of the participating community-based and/or legal services organizations, and work as a unified front to fight a variety of injustices related to housing instability and involuntary displacement in Maryland, particularly due to eviction.
An Equal Justice Works EJW Fellowship is an opportunity to transform your passion for equal justice into a career. As a Housing Justice Program Fellow, you will be part of a prestigious program that, since its inception in 2019 in Virginia, has successfully improved housing stability in served communities by preventing more than 4,000 tenants from being evicted and conducting education and outreach efforts for more than 40,000 people. Most critically, former EJW Fellows of the Housing Justice Program helped generate momentum for tenants to have the right to be represented by counsel in housing cases (a legal right to counsel)something that seemed inconceivable in Virginia just two years ago. Building on the success of EJW Fellows in Virginia, Equal Justice Works is expanding the Housing Justice Program to Maryland.
As an Organizer Fellow, you will develop experience and skills to be a leader in social justice while promoting tenant protections and working directly with households experiencing housing instability. As a cohort, EJW Fellows are expected to actively participate in peer-to-peer learning and required trainings delivered by Equal Justice Works and training partners throughout the year. In addition, EJW Fellows will attend Equal Justice Works’ Leadership Development Training in October 2022 and 2023.
The Organizer Fellow will be employed by Maryland Legal Aid to fulfill all EJW Fellowship duties at a local and/or state level. The Organizer Fellow, along with three Attorney Fellows that MLA intends to hire, will report to MLA’s Assistant Director of Advocacy for the Access to Counsel in Evictions (ACE) Program for day-to-day supervision, mentoring and performance evaluation.
Duties and Responsibilities:
- Providing resident services addressing issues that arise from housing instability for low-income households, especially in eviction/unlawful detainer cases, such as information on tenant rights and referrals for existing community services and resources.
- Building key stakeholder relationships in furtherance of the Fellowship objectives; creating, fostering, and cultivating partnerships among legal services providers, tenants’ associations, community social services providers, and other community-based entities.
- Strategizing, planning and conducting training and outreach to communities and community organizations in furtherance of housing stability and affordability for low-income community members; engaging in peer-to-peer learning with other Equal Justice Works Housing Justice Program Fellows.
- Identifying larger trends and issues for clients and working with MLA and other colleagues to develop strategies and research national best practices to respond to those trends and needs.
- Actively contributing to and participating in Housing Justice Program cohort activities (resource exchanges; mandatory webinars and conference calls; and training events, including Equal Justice Works Leadership Development Training in fall 2022 and 2023).
- Exercising leadership competencies as an Equal Justice Works Fellow.
- Contributing to required programmatic reporting and overall program evaluation.
Qualifications:
- Commitment to social justice.
- Ability to develop and maintain a variety of relationships on multiple levels.
- Excellent writing, communication, interpersonal, and organizational skills, with ability to communicate effectively to diverse populations.
- Strong oral and negotiation skills, and the ability to work as a team member.
- Prior experience in managing independent projects or assignments.
- Experience with delivering training and presentations a plus.
- Diverse economic, social and cultural experiences and a second language are preferred.
- Knowledge of housing benefits law and/or experience with housing and benefits agencies.
- An ability to work collaboratively in a multidisciplinary setting to facilitate a coordinated community response and provide holistic services to clients.
- Creativity and flexibility in solving problems and meeting challenges.
NOTE: all EJW Fellows are expected to fulfill the complete duration of the EJW Fellowship and will be required to sign an EJW Fellowship Agreement with Equal Justice Works.
About MLA:
Maryland Legal Aid (MLA) is a nonprofit legal services law firm that provides free, civil legal services to low-income people in Baltimore City and Maryland's 23 counties from 12 offices. The firm handles cases involving a wide range of issues, including family, housing, government benefits, healthcare, employment, and consumer law. MLA also represents children in CINA (Child in Need of Assistance) proceedings in 22 jurisdictions. Other vulnerable populations, such as homeowners facing foreclosure, migrant and seasonal farm workers, people with developmental and mental health disabilities, nursing home and assisted living residents, and veterans seeking benefits and assistance with related legal issues also receive representation through special projects. MLA's Community Lawyering Initiative, which includes its Lawyer in the Library program, assists with expunging criminal records to remove barriers to obtaining housing, employment, and child custody through clinics held in libraries, community centers, non-profit organizations, places of worship, schools, healthcare facilities, and other communal places.
Schedule, Travel, Salary and Benefits
The salary range for this position is $37, 142.00 - $66, 737.00. In addition, MLA provides employees with a generous benefits package that includes health, dental, vision, life insurance, a 401(k) retirement plan, 2 weeks paid time off, paid sick leave, 14 annual paid holidays, and more! Future flexibility regarding a hybrid work arrangement is a possibility after the onboarding period. Eligibility to apply for the Maryland Janet L. Hoffman Loan Assistance Repayment Program (LARP).
Application Process
Maryland Legal Aid is committed to equity, justice and inclusion. As an equal opportunity employer, MLA seeks to hire employees from diverse backgrounds and perspectives that are reflective of the communities we serve, including people with disabilities, people of color, women and members of traditionally underrepresented groups.