LSC "Justice Gap" Report Highlights Continuing Unmet Basic Legal Needs Of Low Income Individuals, Families

From the Legal Services Corporation, a private, nonprofit corporation that promotes equal access to justice and provides grants for civil legal assistance to low-income Americans:

• Nearly a million poor people who seek help for civil legal problems, such as foreclosures and domestic violence, will be turned away this year by the nation's largest nonprofit legal aid network because of insufficient resources, the Legal Services Corporation (LSC) projects in a report released [Wednesday]. The report is the Corporation's second analysis of the "justice gap" in America -- the difference between the level of civil legal assistance available and the level that is necessary to meet the legal needs of low-income individuals and families.

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• "Many of these Americans in need of legal assistance are the most vulnerable among us-they are trying to escape from domestic violence, trying to avert foreclosure and homelessness, trying to qualify for disability benefits, trying to recover from natural disasters. Legal aid saves lives and makes communities stronger," LSC President [Helaine M.] Barnett said.

For the entire press release, see LSC Releases Updated Report on the Justice Gap in America.

For the full report, see Documenting the Justice Gap in America: The Current Unmet Civil Legal Needs of Low-Income Americans. (2.4 MB)