CAAS Survey: Working poor in need of legal services

By George P. Hassett

   Low income working people in Somerville are in need of expanded legal services, according to a recent survey by Community Action Agency of Somerville (CAAS).
   Over 50% of the 249 survey respondents stated that they would use free legal services if CAAS provided them, said CAAS Advocacy Director Melissa McWhinney.  Only 6% said they would not use the services. Each respondent was from Somerville.

    The two most common areas where assistance is needed are in the realms of healthcare and financial planning, the CAAS survey reveals.  Inadequate or non-existent insurance top the list of specific needs.
    ‚ÄúThe CAAS Advocacy Program already offers paralegal help to people who are in danger of being evicted,‚Äù McWhinney said.  ‚ÄúIn more complex housing cases, CAAS refers tenants to Cambridge and Somerville Legal Services (CASLS).  But low-income families have a whole range of legal needs that go beyond staying securely housed.‚Äù
     Todd S. Kaplan, an attorney with CASLS said the survey demonstrates a need to expand funding for the free legal services provider to partner with local community groups such as the Massachusetts Alliance of Portugueese Speakers and the Haitian Coalition. He said CASLS presently has only six attorneys to serve the entire state.
     ‚ÄúWe‚Äôre like an emergency room, we can only help people in the most dire of situations,‚Äù he said.
The result is low income residents of Somerville are more likely to have their credit ruined and go through the system uninformed about their rights, he said.
     ‚ÄúThere are laws available to protect people but a lack of information is given to low-income residents. Getting important information to people so they can protect themselves is what CAAS does,‚Äù McWhinney said.
     Two Tufts University students ‚Äì Taryn Miller and Daniel Grant ‚Äì assisted CAAS in conducting the survey.