Every month, the eNews features a project developed by TYLA to show what your association is doing for you (our members) or for Texas communities through public service. The eNews also features local young lawyer leaders across the state who are not on the TYLA Board, but this newsletter has never shown you some of the hard workers behind the scenes at TYLA. This month we are proud to highlight some of the behind-the-scenes folks who helped get a few special projects off the ground.

Bob Stokes, Houston. As co-chair of the Low-Income Texans Committee, Bob Stokes has given both his time and his expertise (as an environmental attorney) to help launch the SAWW (Safe and Affordable Water and Wastewater) project. Stokes says that every big city in Texas has areas with insufficient sewer service, and that such problems are not just in areas such as the colonias along the border. The only option available to residents in these areas is a bad option. For example, in Harris County a private company provides running water to certain communities on the border of the city and county, but no central wastewater. Thus, the residents are using old, broken-down septic systems, which may be unable to treat waste well. Some homes have pieced together overflow pipes in their backyards, so that there is not a pond of wastewater. These pipes drain to the front of the house and then filter into a roadside ditch. Since these areas are poor, there is either not enough room to install a sewer system because the lots are small or the residents don’t have money to install the system. These poor sewer systems create a health risk for those living in that area.

With this in mind, and working in association with Harris County Engineering, Stokes helped identify three communities in Harris County that would benefit from SAWW. The residents of those communities are being sent an introductory letter and questionnaire from TYLA and Harris County Engineering to establish a first contact, gauge their interest in moving forward, and identify community leaders. Simultaneously, Stokes is seeking to amend an existing grant issued by the Galveston Bay Estuary Program. The current grant is directed to owners of small wastewater treatment plants to give them technical assistance. The end of the term of the grant is fast approaching and they still have significant money left. If the grant can be amended, the money can be used for engineering studies on behalf of communities using failing septic systems to help them get new centralized wastewater treatment. If successful, the SAWW project would have access to approximately $120,000 to be used for the required engineering scoping work for up to three communities that need to develop wastewater alternatives. Bob has also worked with several volunteers to identify grant funding for construction of a centralized wastewater treatment plant in the Aldine Community Improvement District. Finally, Articles of Incorporation will soon be filed for the non-profit being formed so that money can be raised for the project. The next step will be to identify areas in Dallas, San Antonio, and Austin that can be served as well.

Stokes also noted the assistance he received through collaboration with Rebecca Rentz, as well volunteer efforts from TYLA Board member Lisa Richardson, HYLA Board member Julie Baumgarten, and other TYLA committee members. Stokes graduated from the University of Texas School of Law in 1994 and has served as a Director on the TYLA Board since 2002. He is an attorney with the Harris County Attorney’s Office in Houston and also serves on the TYLA National Trial Competition, Community Education and Long Range Planning Committees.

Patsy Yung, Dallas. Another co-chair of the Low-Income Texans Committee, Patsy Yung, spearheaded a project known as “Law of the Land,” which was the brain child of TYLA's Immediate Past President, Andrew Strong. Strong presented the project idea to Yung because she is an immigration attorney, and she ran with it!. Law of the Land, which received a grant from the Texas Bar Foundation, began as a pretty broad concept, targeting U.S. immigrants and low-income Texans to inform them about their legal rights and responsibilities under Texas and federal law. One of the first issues that had to be addressed was the many classes of individuals that immigrate to the United States. The program is designed for individuals who are lawfully in the United States, but information is included for individuals who want to help family members obtain lawful status.

Another component of the project, developed by TYLA Board member Mary Reveles, address many low-income issues–particularly providing reference information for people to access already existing TYLA brochures on wills and other various topics. In addition to the book that Yung and committee volunteers developed, a video was made (in Spanish and English) to help inform new citizens of their rights. Yung emphasizes that the project is designed to highlight not only the rights of those who use the materials but also the responsibilities that go along with those rights.

Yung and other TYLA volunteers awoke early one morning this year to head over to the Houston citizenship induction ceremony for the first mass distribution of the program. She estimates that 1,000 copies of the materials were distributed among the approximately 2,000 people who attended the ceremony. Shortly thereafter, Law of the Land materials were distributed at another induction ceremony in Austin, and materials are planned to be used in ceremonies in the Rio Grande Valley. Yung and the TYLA committee are working to roll out to the program in as many places as possible, including other induction ceremonies and through legal aid organizations and wills clinics.

Yung graduated from South Texas College of Law in 1997 and served as a Director on the TYLA Board in 2002 – 2003. She is board certified in immigration law and practices with the law offices of Joseph Reina. Yung also serves on the TYLA Law Focused Education Committee.

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