Local businesses are facing some big obstacles during the COVID-19 pandemic. We have been hearing all across the community about the creative ways that business owners are pivoting their business to keep up with the evolving changes. In response, we want to share the stories of chamber business members from Mentor, Willoughby Western Lake County, Eastern Lake County, and Chardon chambers of commerce to show how we rally as a community when we are faced with challenges.
Today, we are featuring Mentor Chamber Business Member, Betsy Rader Law LLC. Betsy Rader is giving back to the community by offering free remote legal clinics to people who have become unemployed due to COVID-19.
Betsy Rader Law LLC
Betsy Rader has been practicing employment law for over 30 years, since graduating from Yale Law School in 1986. She has offices in both downtown Willoughby and Russell Township. When COVID-19 first caused businesses to shut down, Betsy began volunteering at the Cleveland Food Bank. However, once the National Guard stepped in, the Food Bank no longer needed volunteers. So, with her background serving on the Board of Cleveland Legal Aid that serves Northeast Ohio, Betsy decided to push her volunteer efforts in another direction.
As we all know, COVID-19 has caused numerous business closures, which in turn lead to a surge in unemployment. “People were confused about the new benefits available”, Betsy told us, “So I decided that another way I can help during this crisis was to volunteer my services through remote legal clinics.” Betsy explained that legal clinics are typically held in person with the client, but Legal Aid organizations around the state quickly figured out a way to connect clients with volunteer lawyers using remote technology.
The process is simple. If you have become unemployed due to COVID-19 and are confused about the aid available to you, you can call in to Legal Aid to speak with an intake worker, at which time you will be assigned to a volunteer attorney, like Betsy, who will help answer your questions. Betsy told us, “I’m glad to be able to assist unemployed workers during this difficult time when so many new laws have been enacted and new processes are in place.”
The worker information line at Legal Aid is (440) 210-4532.
While Betsy wishes she could do more to help in this crisis, she is glad that her legal skill set allows her to help people who have lost their jobs.
We will be sharing more stories like Betsy’s next week so stay tuned!
As for D&S, we are open and operating under adjusted hours of 8:00 am – 5:00 pm M-F.
Here are the actions we are taking:
- We are sanitizing all vehicles before and after each repair. Our employees are paying special attention to touch points such as keys, seats, steering wheels, door handles, and shift knobs.
- We are offering complimentary pick up and drop off of vehicles so you do not need to leave your home. Employees picking up and dropping off vehicles are required to wear gloves and a face covering.
- You can get a repair estimate from home by using our online estimate tool.
- We will work with you in terms of payment over the phone or any other precautions to ensure as little contact as possible.
- We are cleaning our facilities frequently with sanitizing products.
- We are taking precautions to ensure the welfare of our employees. This includes instructing employees who feel ill to stay home and consult their healthcare providers, as well as, instructing all employees to be vigilant about frequent and proper hand washing.
- If you feel sick, please visit our Collision Centers at a future date, stay home and seek advice from your health care provider.