Navigating the Landscape of Legal Aid Services
Legal aid services are handled by nonprofit organizations that offer free or low-cost legal assistance to residents of a region. These include Mercer County, who has the NJ State Bar Association partnering with local bars in encouraging those who need aid to contact them. Legal services cover a range of civil (non-criminal) issues, and they’re dedicated to helping those in poverty, the elderly, and other vulnerable members of society with the above-mentioned legal issues. Citizens of Mercer County can seek legal aid for topics including housing and eviction, consumer finance, family law, public benefits, guardianship, social security, and more. You will need to contact eligible agencies for more information about specific qualifications and to see if they can help you. You will need to fall below certain income levels, but these vary from the different agencies. Tens of thousands of people receive help from these legal aid groups each year. For example , statewide in 2014, the New Jersey State Bar Foundation assisted 47,971 individuals and helped resolve their pending cases. The staff and is the largest group of full-time pro bono attorneys who take on these cases. The Federation of Bar Associations of New Jersey jumped in to also help streamline pro bono efforts throughout the state for the legal aid system. This increased help for residents comes at a time when the United Way in New Jersey reports that 10% of residents are not sure whether they will be able to afford basic necessities over the next 12-month period. Legal aid services can help preserve the well-being of those who might find themselves in an escalated legal situation and help enforce their legal rights. Are you looking for legal assistance beyond what is offered through these legal aid services? If you need legal advice, representation, or advocacy assistance, contact us here at Villari, Frank & Dewane for a free consultation.
How to Locate Legal Aid in Mercer County
Residents of Mercer County can find legal aid services through a number of organizations and resources available in the area. One such organization is the Greater Philadelphia Legal Aid Network, which can be found at 1500 Market St. Suite 1400, Philadelphia, PA 19102. Their contact information is (215) 988-2100, and more information can be found on their website at www.philalegal.org.
Another resource for residents of Mercer County is South Jersey Legal Services, which offers free or very low-cost legal services to low-income residents. This organization’s offices are located at 710 E. State Street Suite 105 in Trenton, NJ 08609. They can be reached by phone at (609) 695-3700 or (877) 424-3836, or found online at www.lsnj.org.
Rutgers University Law School has a pro bono program that matches volunteers with clients. They are located at 123 Washington Rd, Princeton, NJ 08540, and their contact number is (609) 258-4848. More information can be found online at law.rutgers.edu.
Another pro bono opportunity for Mercer County residents is the Community Justice Program, which provides free civil legal assistance to low-income citizens. Their office is located at 302 North Warren St, Trenton, NJ 08605, and their contact number is (609) 695-3000. More information is available at njpovertylaw.org/index.cfm/cmp/home.html.
Who Qualifies for Legal Aid Services
General eligibility guidelines for receiving legal aid in Mercer County include meeting certain income limits and residency requirements. Legal aid clients must have an annual income at or below 200 percent of the Federal Poverty Guidelines. Clients also must be legal residents of a county or state where legal aid is provided. Documentation required to establish eligibility for legal aid can vary among programs. Clients generally are asked to provide proof of assets and income, identification, Social Security number and details about their legal problem. Even when eligibility is established, legal aid services will not be provided if legal aid does not handle a particular type of case or the service required.
Areas of Focus for Legal Aid Services
In Mercer County, as with other jurisdictions in New Jersey, legal aid aids clients with particular issues that may be of focus in the county. The areas of law covered in legal aid include family law, housing, consumer rights, transportation, and domestic violence. For example, Mercer County legal aid assists low-income residents regarding housing issues, such as eviction, foreclosures, landlord-tenant issues, public housing, and housing discrimination, as well as problems with domestic development, protection from domestic violence, and TIGER transportation access.
In recent years, there seems to be an increased focus on programs that attract local attention giving the county the resources to deal with specific local legal issues through programs like Volunteer Lawyers for Justice . Through this special program, local lawyers volunteer to represent legal aid clients. In 2015, for example, those who volunteered were able to provide more than $68,000 in pro bono legal services for legal aid clients. Some of these pro bono attorneys represented clients brought in from special programs.
A similar program retaining increased attention recently is the Mercer County tenant forum. Common problems that have plagued tenants, such as eviction, not delivering adequate heat or hot water, and broken windows, are discussed with the assistance of legal aid and local judiciaries.
How Legal Aid Services Can Help You
The provision of legal aid services is crucial not only for the individuals who directly benefit from them, but also for the community as a whole. For low-income residents, legal aid can mean the difference between a fair outcome in a family law case and losing custody of a child, between safety from an abuser and a greater risk of violence, or between living with dignity in old age or being taken advantage of due to diminished capacity. Access to legal services that help these individuals in Mercer County both improves their lives and protects the community overall. Since 2016, Mercer County has benefited from an increase in legal aid usage, with a total of 2,029 people utilizes legal aid services in 2016 and a total of 2,486 individuals benefitting from similar services in 2017. That indicates a near-24 percent increase in the need for legal aid services in one year alone. A significant portion of the legal aid provided in Mercer County is for family law matters, which tends to be the most common reason people seek legal aid and the most common type of case that low-income clients have. Mercer County residents received almost $1.1 million in free legal services through the work of the combined 11 lawyers in Mercer County. Almost 75 percent of those lawyers are employed by either North Penn Legal Services or MidPenn Legal Services and the other 25 percent are solo practitioners providing pro bono work for volunteer lawyers for the upper grade program.
Applying for Legal Aid Services
Once you have determined your need for legal aid in Mercer County, it is time to apply for assistance. Luckily, the process is fairly straightforward and can be done online from the comfort of your own home. The first step is completing the online application form or calling the Mercer County legal aid office to request an application by mail. Once received, complete the application and return to the address provided. You will need to provide various personal information through this application and some of it may seem inappropriate or overly personal for a legal application. However, it is important to know that the organization is required to ask for this information. It is merely to help verify your eligibility for legal aid should the need arise. In most cases, an attorney will review your application shortly after it has been received . The attorney might call you to request additional information or clarification about your current situation. Legal aid offices are often understaffed so there are no guarantees about how quickly you will hear back. However, if you do not hear anything back within two weeks, it is advisable to contact the office for an update and ensure that the application has been received and is being processed. An attorney will decide whether or not the office can take your case and you will be notified if it is or isn’t accepted. Sometimes this happens if they believe they will not be able to give your case the attention it needs. Whether or not your case is accepted, a staff attorney will attempt to connect you with other resources that may be able to help you.