After talking to some people, I have decided to continue using my blog, so that you can hear about all that I am doing in Los Angeles. I was officially back from Israel on the 21st of May. Danny picked me up from the airport and went back to his town where my car was to spend some time together and get some food!! I was actually quite awake when I got off the plane even though I really had not slept on the planes. However, at about 8PM my entire body got very tired! I was very grateful when Danny's mom invited me to sleep in the spare bedroom for the night, so that I wouldn't fall asleep on the road. I slept really well, but for some reason at 3AM, my body tried to wake up and tell me it was morning. After a half hour of convincing it otherwise, I finally fell back to sleep. The rest of the week was like that as well. My body wanted to be asleep when it was the day here and awake when it was the night here. It is funny how jet-lag works. It took a week to recover and then I got a cold. I was so thankful to have the week off before I started Starbucks! It was also good to share some time with my neighbors. On Monday, I help with tutoring which actually ended up being "Story Time" because none of the kids had homework. Laura, a friend who is also a part of the Mentoring Initiative here, told a stories to the kids complete with puppets. It was a really neat experience.
Another friend of mine here, I found out when I got home, was being evicted from their home. The problem was that the landlord had no legal right to evict her. So, some of us in InnerCHANGE spent a good part of the day on Sunday and the rest of the week helping her move out of here place before she got into trouble. And on Friday, John and I went to court with her to defend her case. I have spent a good part of the year researching landlord and tenant rights for the Los Angeles area, so I went hoping that I could help her when she was faced with the other lawyer. The hard part about the whole situation was the fact that the paper work and notices she had been issued did not add up. It had all the wrong names in the wrong areas and stated that she had failed to pay rent when she had. The real intriguing part was the fact that the Unlawful Detainer, the notice that claimed she was being evicted on the failure to pay rent, was signed and dated the date after her receipt for rent was dated. When her daughter went to the courthouse to respond to the notice, the clerks there even thought the charges didn't make sense. The scary part is, is that is this woman had not gone into to file a response to the notice, the court would have sided with the landlord, even though the paperwork didn't make sense. And that my friends, is the Sad state of our governmental system. This woman would have had a permanent mark on her record stating that she had failed to pay rent when she didn't. You know what that would have done to her chances to find housing. And this happens so often to people who don't understand their rights as tenants. They don't understand the legal jargens that say they need to respond to the charges filed against them, so they don't respond. The court sides on the side of the plaintiff and the family's credit report has a black mark on it. Well, because she filed the response she had her chance to defend herself in court. I was very thankful about this. At the end of the day, the case was dismissed (charges dropped), the woman got her deposit back that she had on the house, and the landlord got her property back. It wasn't the fairest situation, however, she does not get any permanent marks on her record. The ideal would have been to let her stay in the house, however, she was already moved before the trial happened. So, in the end the landlord got what she wanted and can now rent the property for a higher price. But, that what it is all about right. America is about making money, and at no matter what cost either! It is sad that our society has come to this point. Something has definitely gone really wrong in our country when we are willing to through a family out on the street and limit their chances for shelter, so that we can make an extra buck........