Last year, Legal Aid of Southeast and Central Ohio helped almost 40,000 people across our 36 counties. This includes families, children, seniors, individuals with disabilities, veterans, and numerous other groups of people. The areas in which we represented clients were also broad, including housing, domestic, consumer, benefits, re-entry, tax, employment, education, and more.
We are proud of our work, but the need for critical legal services for those living in poverty far outpaces our capacity. Unlike in the criminal legal system, there is no right to counsel for individuals on the civil side. As a result, families at risk of losing their housing, domestic violence survivors going through a divorce or custody dispute, or those who are not receiving the benefits or special education services they are entitled to are not provided a lawyer if they cannot afford one.
Three out of four low-income households experienced at least one civil legal problem in the last year, according to The Justice Gap: The Unmet Needs of Low-Income Americans, a report released in 2022 by Legal Services Corporation (LSC). The report also found that 49% of households experienced five or more legal issues, with 55% stating that these problems substantially impacted their lives.
Further, the study found that most low-income Americans do not get any or enough legal help for their civil legal problems and the cost of legal help stands out as an important barrier. Due to limited funds, Legal Aids like ours must turn away one out of every two requests for legal assistance. Even when we are able to provide some help, Legal Aids only have the resources to resolve 56% of the legal issues. These national numbers are consistent with our experience.
While those are difficult statistics to read, it is critical to understand the Justice Gap so that we can all continue to take steps to reduce it. Pro bono assistance, donations, partnerships, and more all help us to provide better access to justice throughout Southeast and Central Ohio. We encourage you to get involved and help us ensure that all Ohioans—regardless of income—can access justice.
