CLASI, for the past several years, has been representing manufactured home owners who are facing large lot rental increases imposed by the park owners. Delaware’s Rent Justification Act, limits the ability of park owners to raise lot rentals indiscriminately, in large part recognizing the reality that manufactured homes are not that mobile. Essentially the rent increases must be tied to…
New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington, D.C., and Massachusetts are all making progress to ensure vulnerable people facing eviction get access to legal representation. In the majority of cases across the country, landlords are represented by lawyers in court and tenants are self-represented. Giving tenants access to a lawyer can make the difference between safe housing and homelessness. Read more here….
New York City’s plan to guarantee representation to all families facing eviction is reflective of a movement emerging to reduce homelessness and save cities significant money. Providing legal representation costs approximately $1,500 per case compared to the cost of caring for a family that is homeless — upwards of $40,000 per year. Other cities, including Baltimore Washington, D.C., and Philadelphia,…
The New York Times published an article about the efficacy of Nurse Family Partnerships, one of CLASI’s Medical-Legal Partnership Program partners, in helping low-income children. CLASI has supported NFP by providing free legal services to NFP clients with unmet civil legal issues–in employment, housing, benefits, and domestic violence cases. Since our partnership began, we have helped 52 postpartum women in…
Despite the fact that a recent report found 7 out of 10 poor people experienced a civil legal problem last year and that only 20% of those legal needs were met due to lack of resources, Congress has proposed a 25% cut in funding for the Legal Services Corporation. This will result in legal services organizations across the country, including…
Funding for legal services is at risk in the State of Delaware’s budget. Delaware’s three nonprofit legal services agencies rely on the state’s annual budget allocation of $600,000 in addition to another $280,000 of grant in aid funding in order to fund the critical services they provide to Delaware’s most vulnerable populations including people who are poor, people with significant…