Everyone Deserves Legal Representation in Our Civil Courts
Neighborhood Legal Services, our region’s largest civil legal aid provider, is often the only path to justice for our most vulnerable neighbors facing a civil legal problem impacting life’s most basic needs: personal safety, family, health, shelter, and warmth.
It’s a fact: People who can afford to hire a private attorney are statistically more likely to win or settle a legal case in their favor. This income-based inequality is called the “justice gap.” With your support, we can narrow this gap and help individuals and families with low incomes get legal-aid attorneys dedicated to their success.
There’s nothing like a good neighbor. Especially when you’re in a tough spot. NLS’s role in the community is to be the place people turn to when they need legal help.
NLS offers our low-income neighbors in Allegheny, Beaver, Butler, and Lawrence counties, a much better chance of keeping their homes, securing their veteran’s benefits, protecting themselves from domestic violence, and more by giving them access to expert legal services
That’s where you come in. You can help us ensure that the doors to justice stay open to provide our neighbors with the legal services they so desperately need. With your support, we can always greet them with open doors and ensure access to justice for your neighbors in crisis.
Donate to Neighborhood Legal Services today at EqualJusticeCampaign.org. or text Equal Justice to 44321
Stories of Justice Achieved
The importance and impact of our legal advocacy is best told through the stories of our clients.
Babies should never face eviction. With your support, many won’t. Jayla was an expecting mother who was suddenly facing threat of eviction. She suddenly owed three months’ rent at a higher rate after needing to take maternity leave, due to a miscommunication of income to the housing authority. Can you imagine having to juggle the stress of dealing with government agencies while raising a newborn?
Evictions during infancy have been linked to late cognitive development. Children who have been evicted are 4 times more likely to quit school before graduating. Jayla felt pinned, worried about disrupting her child’s support network, until she reached out to NLS. Jayla had gotten a new job, but her employer wouldn’t approve time off for the court hearings. NLS attorney Nick Brady “stepped in like a fairy godmother,” Jayla said, going to court in her stead. Jayla’s debt was paid, and the housing authority adjusted her assistance to its proper level.
When you support Neighborhood Legal Services, babies like Jayla’s can grow up in safe, stable housing and have the best chance of staying in school.
Story and Photography by Neighborhood Legal Services
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