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General Information:

The U.S. constitution guarantees access to a lawyer when someone is accused of a crime. But, there is no constitutional right to an attorney when someone faces a civil action. The ³ÉÈ˶¶Òõ (LSC) was created in 1974 to ensure that low-income individuals and families have access to justice and due process.

The ³ÉÈ˶¶Òõ Act (42 U.S.C. § 2996 et seq.) stipulates that LSC-funded programs cannot use either LSC or private funds for certain activities.

Subject Areas:

LSC grantees provide legal assistance to domestic violence survivors in many different areas of the law. Grantees prevent future violence by obtaining, renewing and enforcing protective orders in court. For many victims, concerns over their ability to provide for themselves and their children are a significant reason for staying in or returning to an abusive relationship.

Rural populations eligible for LSC-funded services include veterans and military families, homeowners and renters, families with children, the disabled, elderly, and victims of natural disasters.

In the aftermath of a natural disaster, legal services providers are a critical component of comprehensive disaster relief. The ³ÉÈ˶¶Òõ (LSC) has expertise in working with and supporting a network of national and local partners to help LSC-funded legal aid programs serve low-income clients when disasters or emergencies occur.

Local legal aid offices are gateways for veterans in need of civil legal assistance. Many veterans who served in combat confront legal problems—such as foreclosures, evictions, consumer fraud, child custody issues, and wrongful denials of benefits —that LSC-funded legal aid programs handle. An estimated 1.8million veterans are eligible for LSC-funded services. In 2017, LSC grantees served more than 100,000 veterans and their family members with a range of legal problems.

With 133 local legal aid programs and more than 800 offices nationwide, LSC grantees aid thousands of Americans suffering from this crisis. In a 2017 survey of LSC grantees, more than 94% of grantees who replied reported that they provide legal services to a client population that includes users of opioids.