What does Virginia Legal Aid Society do?

Virginia Legal Aid Society (VLAS) is a nonprofit law firm established in 1977 to provide free civil legal services to eligible low-income residents in twenty counties and seven cities in Central, Southside, and Western Tidewater Virginia. VLAS serves the entire community by providing free information, advice and representation in such areas as housing, healthcare, economic self-sufficiency, education, public benefits, consumer purchases, and family relations.

Am I eligible for help from VLAS?

VLAS determines financial eligibility for general legal services based on income and assets available to the family, using the Federal Poverty Income Guidelines. VLAS may serve you if your income is 125% of the federal poverty guideline or below. Higher incomes can be accepted in some offices due to United Way or Area Agency on Aging funding. See your nearest office to determine income eligibility.

What type of cases does VLAS handle?

VLAS provides free legal help for individuals and families in the following areas:

HOUSING

VLAS assists clients in housing cases while at the same time helping in the preservation and expansion of affordable and quality housing stock.

Examples of problems VLAS works on:

• Community groups that want to renovate housing for low-income renters or homeowners
• Eviction from private, public or subsidized housing when there is a defense to the eviction
• Foreclosure or other home loss
• Landlords who have taken personal belongings, locked tenants out of their home, or used other illegal actions to collect rent
• Prevent landlords from refusing to rent based on a person's age, sex, race, disability or other illegal forms of discrimination
• Unsafe and substandard housing conditions

HEALTH CARE

VLAS assists clients in obtaining and maintaining public and private health care benefits to which they are legally entitled.

Examples of problems VLAS works on:

• Medicaid, where benefits or coverage were denied or terminated.
• Client is being billed by provider for services even though covered by Medicaid or Medicare.
• Medicare denies payment for a covered service.
• Application for Medicare is denied, or Medicare participation is terminated.
• Problems with FAMIS (Family Access to Medical Insurance Security), Virginia's health insurance program for uninsured children whose families are caught between eligibility for Medicaid and lack of funds for private health insurance.

ECONOMIC SELF-SUFFICIENCY

VLAS assists clients in creating and keeping jobs and getting job training and education.

Examples of problems VLAS works on:

• Appropriate welfare-to-work job training
• Clients who need help setting up small businesses
• Discrimination in employment
• Defaulted student loans when students did not get the training for which they paid
• Unfair or illegal employment discharge
• Wages or back pay due

EDUCATION

VLAS assists clients in obtaining and maintaining educational services.

Examples of problems VLAS works on:

• Racial, gender or other illegal discrimination in school programs, student placement or testing
• Represent expelled or suspended students regarding the provision of special educational services
• Special education for children with disabilities who are denied help or benefits

PUBLIC BENEFITS

VLAS assists clients in obtaining and maintaining public benefits
for which they are eligible.

Examples of problems VLAS works on:

• Lost pensions or pension rights
• Obtain and maintain public benefits such as food stamps, social security, supplemental security income, TANF (formerly AFDC), veterans benefits, unemployment insurance compensation and workers compensation

CONSUMER PURCHASES

VLAS assists clients by handling significant consumer cases, with emphasis on those that would improve business practices, consumer practices or court processes.

Examples of problems VLAS works on:

• Cheating by lenders with respect to their credit rating, insurance policies, or in credit terms or interest rates
• Harassing or unfair debt collection activity
• Illegal repossession of property
• Obtain bankruptcies when the client is in danger of losing job or home
• Unfair bill collection practices
• Cases contesting unusually high interest rates and other consumer protection law cases

FAMILY RELATIONS

VLAS provides advice and general information in cases involving child custody, visitation and support; protecting family members from abuse; and contesting complaints of child abuse or neglect.  However, because the demand for our help far exceeds the supply of lawyers' and paralegals' time, VLAS rarely provides full representation in such cases.   VLAS provides representation in a limited number of  divorces each month, limited to uncontested divorces and those involving a significant pension interest, and to a very limited number of contested custody cases each year.

Examples of problems VLAS works on:

• Child support:
  --For custodial parent when noncustodial parent fails to pay and Child Support Enforcement fails to collect support
  --For noncustodial parent when support level should be reduced
• Determination of child custody
• Divorce