Ellen arrived at the Jackson County Courthouse feeling overwhelmed. A creditor was suing her for a debt she didn’t recognize, and she suspected her abusive ex-husband, Luis, had used her credit card without permission. Unsure how to defend herself, Ellen brought a police report documenting Luis’ abuse but didn’t know if it would help. Then,…
Irene, living only on Social Security, took her car to a repair shop because the sensor lights kept coming on and the car would shudder when she drove it. Due to her limited resources, she asked the repair shop to call her with an estimate before making any repairs. According to Irene, the agreement was…
Cassie lives alone on a fixed income. One day, she got a phone call from someone claiming to be a debt collector who threatened her with arrest and foreclosure if she didn’t pay a debt from the early 2000s—a debt she had no knowledge of. The collector tricked Cassie into paying $2,800 on her credit…
Anita had worked retail and restaurant jobs her entire life. When she reached full retirement age, she began receiving her Social Security benefits. She could not live off of her retirement benefit alone, so she continued to work part-time at a local department store. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Anita’s doctor told her she should…
Ms. Hopkins is an 87-year-old woman with health and mobility issues. She called Legal Aid after her monthly mortgage payment increased to a level that she could not afford. Initially, Legal Aid assisted Ms. Hopkins in discovering that her homeowner’s insurance premium had gone up and helped Ms. Hopkins find a better deal. However, after…
Barb contacted us via our Legal Aid CARES Hotline. The Hotline was set up in April to answer questions about CARES Act stimulus payments. Barb explained to the Legal Aid attorney that she was waiting on her stimulus check and her tax refund, neither of which she had received. Like so many workers, Barb’s hours…
Carmen contacted Legal Aid after she was served with a summons in a credit card collection case. Carmen, an elderly widow with significant health problems, was scheduled for cancer surgery the following week. She was afraid that she would return from the hospital and her mobile home would be taken away from her because of…
Charles was interested in rehabbing a debilitated, vacant property in his neighborhood. He was able to locate and contact the property’s owner, and they made an agreement: in exchange for $100 cash, the owner would grant Charles permission to occupy the premises and rehab the property to avert the demolition. The owner also promised Charles…
Anne, who is elderly and in poor health, received a hand-written note from an investment company offering to buy her home. Anne had considered selling her house because of her concern that she may not be able keep up with the maintenance. She called the investment company and scheduled an appointment. The next day, two…
Cheryl is a sixty-four year old woman and for the first time in her life, she was being sued and it was by a payday loan company. Cheryl was worried about how this would impact her ability to maintain her household. As a great-grandmother, she maintained a four-generation household and her monthly income was not…
