Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, September 20, 1994 TAG: 9409220030
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: By ROBERT FREIS STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Last year, Legal Aid had to turn away about 1,600 cases because of staff limitations, said Debra Sifford, executive director.
Now, the organization has moved to a larger, remodeled office building at 155 Arrowhead Trail in Christiansburg. Additional lawyers and legal aides have been hired, and Sifford predicts several hundred more cases can be handled.
"It's the best thing to happen to our program in 10 years," she said.
Legal Aid, which offers free legal services for low-income clients, has experienced a steady case load increase during tough economic times in the New River Valley.
Sifford said as many as 27,000 people in Montgomery, Pulaski, Giles and Floyd counties and Radford - nearly one in six - live at or below the federal poverty limit.
The typical Legal Aid client is struggling with financial woes created by the loss of a manufacturing job. "We're seeing a whole new type of client. We began to see them when all the layoffs occurred several years ago," Sifford said.
Many of Legal Aid's clients once lived a secure middle-class life. Now they work part time or for minimum wage, and cannot generate enough income for themselves or their families to cover fundamental needs: food, housing, health services.
Statistics show that poor people experience an average of five legal problems annually, Sifford said. The reason: "If you don't have money you have problems."
Legal Aid's case load would be heavier if all the people eligible for help asked for it, Sifford said. But "they've been taught to pay their own way. They have a hard time asking for help."
The local Legal Aid Society employs four lawyers and seven staff members. Sifford said its 1994 budget is $377,000. About two-thirds of that sum comes from federal funds, the rest from state and local court fees.
Legal Aid handles only civil matters for its clients - not criminal, personal injury, traffic or real estate cases. Representation can be provided for family and consumer law cases, bankruptcy, wills and estates, and disputes involving landlord-tenant issues or public assistance benefits.
Sifford said the majority of Legal Aid clients are women.
The organization, headquartered for eight years on West Main Street in Christiansburg, now has the top two floors of the former Wrenn Building. Located near Roanoke and Depot streets, the Legal Aid office is part of a complex that recently has become the home of several nonprofit organizations.
The Legal Aid building and an adjacent office are owned by NRC Management Services Corp., a local business that provides accounting and other services to non-profits.
Rick Poff, NRC's general manager, said Habitat for Humanity, DePaul Children's Services and New River Community Action's weatherization and Comprehensive Health Investment Project occupy the complex along with the Legal Aid Society.
Poff said he'd like the Arrowhead Street complex to expand and become known as the area's headquarters of nonprofit organizations.
The Legal Aid Society of the New River Valley can be reached during business hours by calling 382-6157.
by CNB