news-record.com

One in a series of profiles of United Way of Greater Greensboro member agencies.

Legal Aid of North Carolina

Legal Aid of North Carolina provides free legal services in civil matters to low-income people in order to ensure equal access to justice and to remove legal barriers to economic opportunity.

• Services: “Domestic Unit” advises clients involved in family crisis. It was allocated $99,951 for 2009-10. It served 429 people in 2008-09.

* “Older Adult Services” advises older adults on legal issues. It was allocated $30,123 for 2009-10. It served 156 people in 2008-09.

• Need: “The eligible pool of clients in North Carolina has now grown to exceed 3.5 million people, approximately 34 percent of the state’s population,” said Janet McAuley Blue, managing attorney. “The economic downturn has forced many households deeper into poverty. The need for our services is greater than it has been in some time. In our current economic environment, our challenge is to find a way to continue providing high quality legal services to all those who need us in order to meet the minimal requirements of justice, however daunting the task.”
• With additional funding: “Our goal for 2010, with the support of our funders, will be to retain our current team of high-performance advocates and to continue to emphasize casework that will protect or obtain an adequate income and shelter for our clients. If we can retain our staff, we intend to close approximately 23,000 cases and otherwise assist a total of 30,000 households in 2010. “Donor and foundation funding has been critical to protecting safety-net income such as food stamps, unemployment insurance, social security and other disability benefits, which will be at the forefront of our work again in 2010.”