Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

Abstract #118224

Alex Nguyen, Neighborhood Law Corps, Oakland City Attorney, City Hall, 6th Floor, 1 Frank Ogawa Plaza, Oakland, CA 94612 and Shailushi Baxi Ritchie, MPH, The Marin Institute, 24 Belvedere Street, San Rafael, CA 94901, 415-456-5692, shailushib@marininstitute.org.

The Neighborhood Law Corps (NLC) proves that combining the grassroots, proactive tradition of legal aid with the power and access of city hall is effective and powerful in creating change.

The Neighborhood Law Corps was founded by Oakland City Attorney, John Russo, in February of 2002. The purpose of Neighborhood Law Corps (NLC) is to provide Oakland communities with an opportunity to address chronic neighborhood problems such as blight, problem liquor outlets, drug houses, and environmental pollution. At the direction of the neighbors, the NLC attorney leverages all available resources to achieve the neighborhood's desired outcome. THe NLC recruits lawyers to serve as advocates for community residents and, by working together, residents and the attorneys translate neighborhood concerns into effective action plans to improve the health and safety of all community members.

Oakland residents and neighborhood groups have embraced the program, claiming that Neighborhood Law Corps has become essential in “changing the way things are done” and being “the best thing to happen to Oakland.” In fact, the NLC issued Oakland's first Report Card on liquor stores, titled "The Good, the Bad, & the Ugly." The City Council accepted it unanimously and, as a result, one problem liquor store was shut down under Oakland authority for the first time ever. Many more are being worked on.

Learning Objectives:

• Participants will be able to describe the approach of the Neighborhood Law Corps (NLC) in addressing community problems.
• Participants will be able to discuss the results of the NLC's report card on liquor stores.
• Participants will be able to apply lessons from the NLC's to their own community partnership efforts.

Keywords: Community-Based Partnership, Urban Health

Related Web page: www.oaklandcityattorney.org/neighbor.html

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

I wish to disclose that I have NO financial interests or other relationship with the manufactures of commercial products, suppliers of commercial services or commercial supporters.