603 Legal Aid receives $424,000 for pro bono initiative
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Kathryn Fanlund
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(202) 295-1520
WASHINGTON—The Legal Services Corporation (LSC) is awarding $424,686 to 603 Legal Aid. The LSC Pro Bono Innovation Fund (PBIF) grant will enable the nonprofit legal services organization to strengthen efforts to engage volunteers in assisting low-income Granite Staters with their civil legal problems.
603 Legal Aid will use its grant to launch a Community Justice Worker (CJW) pilot in rural Coos County, expanding access to legal services by training trusted community volunteers to provide supervised assistance with public benefits, including SNAP, Medicaid and WIC. The project will embed CJWs within community organizations, including healthcare providers, food pantries and family resource centers, enabling residents to access legal information, application assistance and referrals in familiar settings. Project staff will identify and assign complex cases to 603 Legal Aid staff or pro bono attorneys.
The pilot builds on existing planning efforts and community partnerships to address attorney shortages and improve early interventions for low-income residents. 603 Legal Aid will recruit, train and supervise CJWs through a structured curriculum developed with the Community College System of New Hampshire.
With limited capacity and resources, legal services organizations nationwide depend upon volunteers to expand the reach of legal assistance in their local communities. Low-income Americans do not receive any or enough legal help with 92% of their civil legal problems.
Since the PBIF grant program began in 2014, LSC has awarded 200 grants totaling more than $55 million. Funding for the PBIF program is included in LSC’s congressional appropriation.
New Hampshire’s U.S. Senators congratulated 603 Legal Aid on receiving a pro bono grant.
“603 Legal Aid is an exceptional, trusted resource for Granite Staters in need of no-cost legal assistance,” said Sen. Jeanne Shaheen. “I’m glad to see federal grant funding headed to the organization to assist in its critical work to help Granite Staters access public benefits like SNAP, Medicaid and WIC, and to expand its reach to communities in our rural North Country where more resources are desperately needed.”
“Rural Granite Staters who need assistance when they apply for aid often don’t have access to legal help close to home, which forces some people to choose between taking time off of work to travel long distances or forgoing help altogether,” said Sen. Maggie Hassan. “I’m glad to see this grant awarded to 603 Legal Aid to help expand access to legal assistance in Coos County. Programs like SNAP, Medicaid, and WIC should be available to everyone who qualifies, and this project will help more Granite Staters get the assistance that they need.”
More information about the Pro Bono Innovation Fund is available here.