The Mintz Levin 2008 Pro Bono Report 17 When “Jenny” first guided her wheelchair through the door of the Pine Street Inn, where the Lawyers Clearinghouse on Affordable Housing and Homelessness was holding its monthly legal clinic, she was desperate. With no place to live, she had asked a local housing authority to help her find housing. However, officials had twice denied her application for housing assistance, citing previous criminal activity and substance abuse. Jenny had been a victim of sexual and physical abuse for many years, and her criminal activity had been precipitated by her substance abuse. But much of her criminal record was more than 10 years old, and she was now sober. After meeting with Jenny at the Pine Street Inn, Mintz Levin attorneys Katrina Kropa and Katharine Beattie submitted a request that the housing authority reconsider its denial, arguing that the authority had relied on irrelevant regulations to improperly deny her the support she desperately needed. The housing authority denied the reconsideration request in December 2007. Undeterred, Jenny’s legal team appealed the decision to the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development. In May 2008, after a hearing at which Jenny was represented by Mintz Levin, the Department sent her case back to the housing authority, finding no basis for the denial. After considering new evidence regarding Jenny’s changed circumstances, the housing authority agreed to grant Jenny another interview. In August 2008, with Katharine at her side, Jenny beamed as she confidently explained the painstaking process she had undertaken to turn her life around. As a testament to Jenny’s efforts, the housing authority interviewer remarked on the remarkable transformation since her first interview. Lawyers Clearinghouse on Affordable Housing and Homelessness The housing authority soon approved Jenny’s application for housing. She has moved into her own one-bedroom apartment and continues to pursue her educational goals. According to Katharine, “It has been such a rewarding experience for me to work with this client to achieve her dream of having a place to call home. Jenny really taught me so much about resilience, courage, and faith.” Jenny’s case is one recent example of the close to 250 cases Mintz Levin attorneys and professionals have accepted since 1994 from the Lawyers Clearinghouse. Mintz Levin was one of the first firms to participate in these legal clinics and, over the years, has conducted clinics at various Boston homeless shelters, including the Pine Street Inn and St. Francis House.  “I had my first Christmas here in this home after five long years of homelessness. As I watch the snow fall and when it’s bitter cold, I think back to the two winters I spent sleeping upright in my car and cry. Never again will I be cold with nowhere to go and nowhere to turn.” -Jenny