Program areas at NPLS
North Penn Legal Services is part of the community solution that provides essential Services for low-income people. Requests for our free civil Legal Services during the last year resulted in handling more than 11,300 cases. In 20 counties, close to 235,000 people are in poverty and eligible for the Services of North Penn Legal Services. We provided civil Legal aid to 2,228 of those people through court and administrative hearings, enhancing clients' economic security by obtaining awards of just over $8.5 million primarily in consumer cases. In an attempt to reach eligible applicants we were otherwise unable to serve, we developed self-help materials, distributed 5,879 informational pamphlets and conducted outreach events to 5,906 people.
Legal aid lawyers and paralegals at North Penn Legal Services have been essential in providing families with safety and stability when they have nowhere else to turn. In cases where individuals and families were threatened with violence from an intimate partner, staff obtained protection from abuse orders in 675 cases. In situations where families were in fear of losing their home, npls was able to prevent eviction or preserve shelter in 427 cases. During this past year of funding, npls has maintained a steady number of volunteer attorneys, paralegals, staff support, and interns who assisted our clients. We also continued our outreach activities, often virtual due to public safety concerns, through special project funding such as our lehigh valley fair housing project.
As a regional provider of civil Legal aid for 60 years, North Penn Legal Services has been ensuring that low-income people in northeast pa have access to justice and the same Legal rights and protections that those who have means can afford on their own. North Penn Legal Services staff provide critical advocacy through representation at hearings, moderating difficult landlord-tenant relationships, and providing self-help materials to low income people facing eviction, foreclosure, and loss of federal housing subsidies. In 2023-2024 housing was a major issue for clients. North Penn Legal Services staff helped 7,767 people with housing issues.