Another Way to Receive Low-Cost Legal Help: the Pro Se Clinic

People are familiar with pro bono (donated) legal services, but there is another way to get low-cost legal help if you need it.  It's the pro se clinic, in which lawyers, law students or paralegals donate their services to help low-income people fill out the legal forms they need that help laypeople do their own footwork in court for a small fee, or free.

In a post a short while back, we discussed one of these types of pro se clinics: those that help ex-offenders fill out the paperwork to get their criminal records expunged or sealed.  However, there are clinics covering other work, too: in Lucas County, Ohio (Toledo), the Toledo Bar Association runs pro se clinics for Juvenile Court and family law and well as expungement, with plans to run them from guardianship and bankruptcy.  For more information on these, contact Pat Intagliata at 419-242-9363.  Since the help involved is direction on how to fill out and file forms, it is often restricted to uncomplicated cases.  For instance, the Lucas County Pro Se Clinic for divorce is only for cases where there are no minor children involved.  When things get complicated, clients are advised to get either a private or pro bono attorney.  In New York City, there are several projects being done for the elderly, incarcerated mothers, immigrants, the HIV positive, and in microenterprise by Volunteer Legal Services.

How do you find these in your area?  One place to look is the online directory of court pro se clinics.  These are run in the courts themselves (like a district federal court or bankruptcy, for instance).  Another is the directory of places to go for free/low cost legal help from the American Judicature Society.  You may ask the local legal aid office in your community.  You can also search google for "pro se clinic" (in quotes), and the name of your city or the type of law you are dealing with, such as bankruptcy or divorce.  Or, you could contact your local bar association. Another possibility is a local law school--sometimes, their students will fill out forms under the supervision of their professors.


***Important: Because a clinic is "pro se" doesn't necessarily mean it's free or low-cost.  "Pro se" just means that it helps you do your own legal work.  Commercial, for-profit companies may do these clinics, too.  When you contact and ask them, ask HOW MUCH it will cost you.  Don't assume it's free or low-cost.

Finding Home Modification Money for the Disabled

A big help to people with mobility disabilities (the ability to walk or climb stairs, for instance), is financial help to make their homes more accessible. These can come in the form of grants or low-interest loans to build ramps or other modifications that can help them live in their own homes longer, or provide a friendly, supportive environment. Here’s some places where you can look for help:

Go to the National Directory of Home Modification Resources. It lists departments of aging and also departments of home finance (state housing authorities). These are useful if 1) you are old enough to qualify for the aid and 2) if your state housing authority has a program to finance home modification. However, if you aren’t, or they don’t, click on the link for Centers for Independent Living. This is a listing of agencies that specialize in things like home modifications, and are often on the money. There are usually income restrictions, but these aren’t usually too stringent. Of course, their ability to help you depends on whether they have enough money in their budget. One such place, for instance, is the Ability Center of northwest Ohio, which has a ramp and home modification program for the northwest Ohio region.

If you are elderly, the Eldercare Locator is useful, too. It offers different options for types of help. Pick the program called “home repair and modification.”

Finally, for people in 27 states, there is the nonprofit Accessible Space, Inc., which has over 100 accessible, affordable buildings where the disabled can live cooperatively. See their directory for buildings and other supportive services, where they are available.

Some Places to Look for a Scholarship...

…would be the local community foundation, especially for young people in high school who are looking into the future. The best time to start checking for scholarships is in your junior year of high school, when you still have time to check out all the possibilities and easily beat deadlines. Most grants from community foundations go to nonprofit groups, but many groups or individuals also give money to community foundations to administer their scholarship programs. For instance, the Toledo Community Foundation administers scholarships for Muslim students pursuing a journalism degree, students pursuing a degree in electrical engineering, and local students studying music, particularly jazz, and other scholarships.

Often, the scholarships they manage are for students in the nearby geographic area, so the trick is to find the community foundation near you. The Council on Foundations makes this easy with their community foundation locator.

Other possible sources of funds are service clubs in your area, like the Kiwanis or the Rotary. These clubs often give small grants to groups or scholarships to individual students. One place to look for service clubs is to start with the big groups and find your local chapter. You can start with the Google directory for such clubs, and inquire at your local library as well.

Don’t forget your place of work, or union. Large employers may have competitive scholarships for employees or their children. The same is true of your union. For family members of participating unions, the Union Plus scholarships are available, opening for applications in the fall. Many unions are a part of this network. See this site to find out if your union is part of this network, and if you might benefit.