Coronavirus could overwhelm legal help for America’s poor

Already short on resources, civil legal aid groups now face unprecedented crunch

Attorneys at the Southeast Louisiana Legal Services Corp. helped the state’s poorest residents in the aftermath of two major hurricanes, the Gulf oil spill and the Great Recession — but the COVID-19 outbreak threatens to strain work there and at similar agencies across the country like never before.

Laura Tuggle worked on housing issues amid Hurricane Katrina’s widespread devastation of property in New Orleans as a staff attorney 15 years ago. Now, she is the group’s executive director as Louisiana emerges as a hot spot for coronavirus cases and the governor has shuttered nonessential businesses.

“We have gone through a lot of big disasters, and this will be the biggest yet,” Tuggle said. “The biggest civil legal aid crisis, the biggest economic crisis, the biggest public health crisis, sort of all rolled into one.” Continue reading.

If you’re a poor person in America, Trump’s budget is not for you

The following article by Steven Mufson and Tracy Jan was posted on the Washington Post website March 16, 2017:

Trump’s budget slashes or abolishes programs that provide support to low-income Americans (Michael S. Williamson/The Washington Post)

If you’re a poor person in America, President Trump’s budget proposal is not for you.

Trump has unveiled a budget that would slash or abolish programs that have provided low-income Americans with help on virtually all fronts, including affordable housing, banking, weatherizing homes, job training, paying home heating oil bills, and obtaining legal counsel in civil matters. Continue reading “If you’re a poor person in America, Trump’s budget is not for you”