Kevin G. Drendel presented on America’s Aging Population at the National Restore Gospel Justice Conference at Judson University in Elgin, IL on June 8, 2019. The Conference took place June 7th and 8th and focused on delivering justice-minded leaders with access to the country’s top thought leaders from academia, law, social organizations, and the church. People attended from all over the country, including attorneys currently engaged in operating legal aid clinics or organizations, and attorneys interested in starting a clinic or organization, clinic coordinators and other people interested in the delivery of legal justice.
Keynote speakers included Dr. Soong-Chan Rah, author and professor at North Park Theological Seminary in Chicago, Bruce Strom, author, founder and Executive Director of Administer Justice and Gospel Justice Initiative, Robin Gracie Travis-Murphree, author and President of Heart of Christ-Corazon de Cristo, Inc., and Rev. Alvin C. Bibbs, author, speaker and President of Justice Journey Alliance. Subjects addressed at the conference included cross-cultural skills, client advocacy, volunteer development, human trafficking, professional responsibility, violence reduction and gang intervention, serving the elderly, ethical challenges in providing legal aid, navigating a broken immigration system and other subjects.
Gospel Justice Initiative is a national legal aid organization that includes almost 90 legal aid clinics around the country and one in Honduras. Gospel Justice Initiative was founded by John D. Robb (1924-2104) and Bruce Strom. John D. Robb served as National Chairman of the American Bar Association Standing Committee on Legal Aid and Indigent Defendants in the 1970’s. He testified before Congress and was involved in the creation of the Legal Services Corporation. He joined with national leaders like Chuck Colson and Jim Wallis to champion efforts to provide justice for the poor who can not afford legal representation.
Bruce Strom is the founder of Administer Justice in the suburbs of Chicago Illinois. After writing the book, Gospel Justice, Bruce left Administer Justice to co-found the Gospel Justice Initiative with John Robb. In the fall of 2018, Administer Justice was merged into the Gospel Justice initiative. Administer Justice now serves as a model for faith-based local, legal aid organizations around the country and continues to expand and serve the vulnerable populations in the greater Chicago area with legal services.