Why is there a need for civil legal aid?
More than 1.1 million Ohioans are still living below the poverty level. According to a 1994 study conducted by the American Bar Association, at least 40 percent of low and moderate-income households experience a legal problem each year. Many of these people would not be able to afford access to the courts to resolve their legal troubles without assistance from civil legal aid delivery system. While legal problems do not discriminate by income, those in poverty are disproportionately and adversely affected by their inability to pay for an attorney. Compounded by the feeling of being shut out of the legal system, individuals living in poverty do not turn to courts for solutions because they believe that the system will not help them. Civil legal aid helps low-income people resolve urgent, non-criminal legal problems that make a difference in the everyday lives, such as protecting the elderly from unlawful evictions, making sure women and children are protected from violence in their home
