MONTGOMERYBAR.ORG
By Kate M. Harper, Esq., President, Montgomery Bar Foundation
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ue was almost finished nursing school and just about to apply for jobs when she was told something stupid she had done years before had given her “a record” that would prevent her from getting a job as a nurse. It was a shoplifting charge, and she had been granted a pardon for the crime nearly 25 years ago, but that did not expunge her criminal record. She couldn’t believe that it could derail a lifelong dream of becoming a nurse when she was so close! She was desperate and ashamed but she just couldn’t afford a lawyer. Someone told her to call Legal Aid, and she did. That story is true and because of Legal Aid of Southeast PA (LASP), “Sue” got a lawyer who worked to obtain the expungement she needed and she graduated and got a job as a nurse. LASP’s Community Engagement Unit got a thank you note saying, “I want to thank you so much for all of your hard work and dedication to helping me get my life back after 25 years.” Joe was 63 years old and at the end of his rope. He had diagnosed medical conditions that caused chronic pain and mobility issues that just got worse as he aged. He just couldn’t afford medical care. He had worked his whole life but just couldn’t do it anymore. He did not know what to do. Bills were mounting and he was worried about his family, when someone told him to talk to Legal Aid’s Disability Advocacy Project. Boy, was he glad he did. Legal Aid helped him apply for Medicare to pay the medical bills, and eventually got him a monthly disability benefit, with a check for an amount in arrears. He told his Legal Aid lawyer he felt financially secure for the first time in his life. These stories happen every day at LASP, which serves the four counties in the Philadelphia suburbs, but could not happen without the support of lawyers. Most people assume that LASP is a government agency, but that’s not the case. It’s an independent 501(c)3 nonprofit corporation that gets its funding from federal
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sources, state sources that rely on IOLTA funds, court filing fees, cy pres awards, program funding (like veteran’s programs and CARES Act funding for specific programs) and donations, including those made by the Montgomery Bar Foundation, the charitable foundation for Montgomery Bar Association lawyers. In Montgomery County, Legal Aid has offices in Norristown and Pottstown and provides legal advice and advocacy for low income folks with civil law issues. “There’s no ‘Right to Counsel’ in a civil proceeding,” explained Shawn Boehringer, Executive Director of Legal Aid of Southeastern PA, “but people often need that kind of help.” During the COVID pandemic, he noted, Legal Aid was busier than ever and made it a point to answer their Helpline (877-4295994) when government agencies couldn’t or didn’t answer their phones, and the callers were often people facing homelessness who needed immediate help. Shawn gives LASP Communications Director Marion Fraley credit for upgrading the Legal Aid website so it could handle the increased traffic during the COVID pandemic. The website (www.lasp.org) features easy to find Hurricane Ida help, rent and utility assistance programs to help people behind in either and help for victims of domestic violence, who often have housing or custody concerns, too. While eligibility for services often depends on meeting lower income regulations, Legal Aid offers its free legal services like family law, expungements, domestic violence assistance, Protection From Abuse (PFA) help, housing assistance, help in obtaining public benefits for which people are entitled, elder law and consumer issues like bankruptcy and defending debt collection actions to veterans, renters and homeowners, and those who need them. Through the Your Way Home Montgomery County Program, and the EPIC program (Eviction Prevention and Intervention
