North Penn Legal Services Inc

Programs: North penn legal services is part of the community solution that provides essential services for low-income people. Requests for our free civil legal services during the last year resulted in handling 10,376 cases. In 20 counties, over 326,439 people are eligible for the services of north penn legal services. We provide civil legal aid to 1,975 of those people through court and administrative hearings, enhance clients' economic security by obtaining awards of just over $3. 4 million in disability cases and provide access to public benefits. In an attempt to reach the 10,717 eligible applicants we were otherwise unable to serve, we developed self-help materials, distributed 5,224 informational pamphlets and conducted outreach events to 2,375 people.

as a regional provider of civil legal aid for more than 50 years, north penn legal services has been ensuring that low-income people in northeast pa have access to justice; to the same legal rights and protections that those who have means can afford on their own. North penn legal services staff provide critical advocacy through representation at hearings, moderating a difficult landlord-tenant relationship and the provision of self-help materials to poor people facing eviction, foreclosure and loss of federal housing subsidies. In 2016-2017 housing was a major issue for clients. North penn legal services staff helped 3,113 people with housing issues.

legal aid lawyers and paralegals at north penn legal services have been essential in providing families with safety and stability when they have nowhere else to turn. In cases where individuals and families were threatened with violence from an intimate partner, staff obtained protection from abuse orders in 585 cases. In situations where families were challenged by a threat to the loss of primary custody of a child, or had been denied contact with a child, staff obtained 453 custody or visitation orders. During this past year of flat funding, npls has experienced an increase in the number of volunteer attorneys, paralegals, and interns who assisted our clients. We also ramped up our outreach activities through some special project funding such as our lehigh valley fair housing project and housing helpline.