Fred was referred to Legal Aid by a community partner. His Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payments had been suspended for an unknown reason. While his Legal Aid attorney was investigating his SSI benefits, she learned he was also having an issue with his subsidized housing. One of Legal Aid’s housing team attorneys accepted the housing…
Weldon is a disabled man living on a small fixed income. He contacted Legal Aid after his home was foreclosed on and he faced imminent eviction. Due to his poor health, Weldon was unable to find appropriate housing quickly and needed to delay his eviction. In reviewing Weldon’s case, his Legal Aid attorney realized that…
The Municipal Court Defense Unit of Legal Aid began representing Mary in April. Mary had a driving while suspended case as well as several other driving charges. Her Legal Aid attorney advised Mary on how to get back her driver’s license and she followed the instructions. Due to Mary’s hard work and her attorney’s advocacy,…
Brenda came to Legal Aid for assistance obtaining a custody order for her three children. The children’s father, Wayne, was in prison at the time for robbery and domestic assault. Wayne had abused and harassed Brenda for almost a decade. He punched her in the face repeatedly, kicked her in the face and stomach, tried…
Adopt-A-Neighborhood Receives $190K Grant
When Irene’s husband passed away, she did not have enough resources to pay for his funeral. As a last resort, she and her disabled son went to a “payday loan” company to borrow $150 each.
Monica and her husband, Art, had three children together. During their marriage, Art severely abused Monica by such acts as pulling her by her ankles off a couch, trying to push her out of a moving car while she was pregnant with their middle child, throwing a phone book at her face the night before…
Legal Aid’s immigration team began working with Abella in 2016. She wanted to apply for citizenship but couldn’t afford to pay the $680 application filing fee. Abella was separating from her husband. She applied for food stamps for her toddler daughter but was denied. Had she been approved, the food stamps award letter could have…
Marge paid $50 per month toward a previous tax balance for years, even though her only sources of income were SSI, food stamps, and housing assistance. She thought she had finally made the last payment when the IRS sent her a new bill, including penalties and interest, which brought the balance back to $700. Marge…
Jack, an elderly man with severe memory problems, first contacted our Joplin Legal Aid office for help with a housing issue. Jack had allowed an individual to live with him rent-free on the condition the tenant would manage Jack’s money and pay his bills. What Jack did not know was that the tenant was stealing…
