May 04, 2017
Contact: Kevin Ruegg (602)340-7366
Print Press Release

Phoenix, AZ May 4th, 2016 – The phone lines opened early at legal aid agencies across Arizona on April 26th and after a few short minutes, a queue of callers seeking legal assistance had already formed. By the end of the day, Community Legal Services, DNA People’s Legal Services and Southern Arizona Legal Aid had received more than 540 requests for help with a legal problem.

In recognition of Governor Doug Ducey’s proclamation of April as “Access to Justice Month” and to call attention to the importance of and need for access to legal resources and assistance, Arizona’s legal aid programs conducted a one day, unduplicated count of Arizonans seeking legal help. For 24 hours, Community Legal Services, DNA People’s Legal Services and Southern Arizona legal aid tracked the number of individuals seeking legal help and the type of legal help needed, the number of requests that went unmet due to a lack of resources, and the impact of volunteer lawyers and law school students.

That Tuesday, Arizona’s legal aid programs made a tremendous impact in their communities by:

• Offering services to 428 individuals facing a legal problem;

• Providing 11 community-based legal education workshops and events; and,

• Coordinating the expertise of over 20 volunteer attorneys and law school students.

Each day and throughout Arizona, legal aid programs are making a difference in the lives of thousands of individuals and families. In 2015, Arizona’s three legal aid agencies helped over 30,000 individuals and families with a legal problem. Legal aid programs serve each of Arizona’s 15 counties and 21 Native American tribes. Community Legal Services, DNA People’s Legal Services and Southern Arizona Legal Aid provide legal assistance on various areas of civil law, including: family law with a service priority for assisting victims of domestic violence, consumer, employment, housing & foreclosure, individual rights and economic stability.

For more information:

Community Legal Services - www.clsaz.org

DNA People’s Legal Services - www.dnalegalservices.org

Southern Arizona Legal Aid - www.sazlegalaid.org

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