Remembering Hunter Simpson
R. Hunter Simpson was an incredible young man who served his community by helping the poor and homeless. From his early teen years, Hunter made it a priority to help anyone less fortunate. He and friends spent many Saturdays handing out peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and hot dogs to the homeless around Pioneer Square. He frugally sought out the lowest prices on bread in order to feed as many people as possible. He spent summers in Tijuana, Mexico, helping to build homes for the poor.
Diagnosed with brain cancer one year ago, he persevered and completed his senior year at Bellevue High School. Hunter received his school’s inspirational Brandy West Award, given each year to a student who exemplifies character and leadership. Determined to attend college, he enrolled at Trinity Western University in Langley, B.C.
Never dwelling on his own medical treatment and the complications associated with the treatment, throughout his single semester in college Hunter ate only a cup of soup (a bowl was more expensive) for lunch and at dinner. He only took what he needed, and nothing more. At the end of the semester, he used the $900 remaining balance on his meal-plan account to buy juice, water and chips from the cafeteria and delivered all of it to homeless children in Seattle.
Driven by his religious faith, those who had the good fortune of knowing Hunter witnessed his unwavering passion for giving and volunteering no matter the circumstances. His mother, Anne, said there were simply not enough years in his life to do the one thing he’d always wanted to do -- travel the world helping people, “doing what he believed he was meant to do.”
Hunter was an amazing young man, with an incredible heart for social justice for the poor and oppressed. Last year, he was invited by the Make-A-Wish Foundation to have his personal wish realized. Instead, in typical Hunter style, he was the first recipient to re-gift his award, using it to benefit New Horizons Ministries and the 1,500 homeless children it serves. Hunter and his family were on hand when the first of three couches was delivered just before Christmas.
Hunter passed away peacefully on December 31. As I reflect on all of his extraordinary accomplishments achieved in his 18 years of life, I am awestruck by his contributions to his community. He packed more generosity into his life than many do in a lifetime. Hunter practiced what he passionately believed, that we must help the poor, the homeless and those less fortunate. Hunter Simpson totally “got it” and practiced what he believed in his all too brief lifetime. My hope is that Hunter’s spirit of selfless giving will inspire others to carry forward his legacy of giving back to the community.
Housing Justice Project
An elderly gentleman was facing eviction for hoarding items that created health issues. While at the courthouse on the eviction calendar, he saw our KCBA Housing Justice sign and wheeled himself into the office. Gary Nathanson happened to be on rotation and talked to the elderly client. Through his efforts, he worked out an agreement with the landlord to give him time to clean up his property and avoid eviction.
When the client’s competency came into issue, Nathanson petitioned the court to appoint a guardian ad litem. When the client was deemed not competent, the court allowed an additional six weeks for him to move to more appropriate housing. During this time period, the client died in his home in familiar surroundings and not on the street.
In another case, the caregiver for an elderly woman residing in a group home for disabled adults happened to read a notice posted by the sheriff on the group home door. Realizing it was an eviction notice, she came in to meet with an attorney in our Kent RJC office. Marjie High happened to be on duty.
Realizing the forced eviction was scheduled for any time after midnight, High proceeded on an emergency basis. The group home had gone into foreclosure and legal notices about the eviction had been ignored. High’s first task was to call the clients and then go to court and stop the eviction, even before she had an opportunity to meet the three elderly disabled clients face to face. She succeeded in postponing the eviction so that DSHS could be contacted and move the clients to a licensed facility before eviction.
These are only two of the stories in which our volunteer attorneys helped the elderly, disabled and poor facing eviction. KCBA’s Housing Justice Project (HJP) is a court-based pro bono program. Eighty attorneys and 30 legal assistants from law firms, corporations and government entities volunteer their time at the HJP offices in the Kent RJC and the King County Courthouse.
Through their efforts, in 2005 our volunteers provided valuable services to 678 clients in Seattle (up from 495 in 2004) and 363 clients in Kent (KCBA assumed the program in October 2004). This is an amazing feat considering the program is managed by three KCBA staff members whose responsibilities include management of other programs. Val Carlson, Judy Lin and Merf Ehman (see bios) resoundingly agree that with the increase in client needs, volunteer attorneys and legal assistants who give of their time and help those less fortunate are greatly appreciated. For more information and to volunteer, please contact Ehman at merfe@kcba.org.
Val Carlson is the director of the Community Legal Services Programs at KCBA where she supervises HJP and eight other pro bono programs. Before that, she served as the managing attorney for KCBA’s Family Law Programs. Carlson is a graduate of the University of Washington Law School and spent 15 years as a solo practitioner before joining the KCBA’s Community Legal Services Programs in 1999. Her areas of practice include family law, personal injury, employment discrimination, civil rights/civil liberties, estate planning and probate.
Judy Lin is a KCBA staff attorney managing the Kinship Care Solutions Project and the Housing Justice Project at the Kent RJC. Prior to joining KCBA, Judy was the managing attorney at Legal Services for Children in San Francisco, representing children and youth in dependency, guardianship, education and immigration law. Before that, she was a housing attorney at Columbia Legal Services in Everett.
Merf Ehman is currently a managing attorney at KCBA. She recruits, trains and mentors attorneys who volunteer for the Housing Justice Project and other pro bono programs. She conducts CLEs on landlord/tenant law, fair housing, ethics and diversity. Ehman received her J.D., with a concentration in affordable housing and community development, from the State University of New York School of Law in Buffalo, in 1997.
Gary Maehara is the current president of the King County Bar Association. He can be reached at garmae@safeco.com.
