Help Deliver Equal Justice for All
The people who turn to NLS often face dire legal problems.
Their homes, incomes, healthcare, even their lives are at risk. But the reality is that the civil justice system isn’t made for people who can’t afford a lawyer and the risk of a costly court case.
You can help!
Thanks to donors like you, NLS has many attorneys who represent clients pro bono and/or at greatly reduced rates. Yet, we still have many more clients than attorneys.
Please give today to ensure everyone in Allegheny, Beaver, Butler and Lawrence Counties in Pennsylvania gets the same chance at equal justice under the law.
A $100 donation
will let NLS advise a person who's facing homelessness through eviction or a parent protecting a child in a custody case.
A $200 donation
will let NLS gain the protection domestic violence survivors and their children deserve.
A $300 donation
will give a client a fresh start through expunging their criminal record.
A $500 donation
will secure a family's title to their home so they can make the repairs they need to be safe and healthy.
Make a Donation
"Legal aid through NLS saved our lives. I'm certain of it"
From the outside, they looked like a happy, middle-class family. But for Chloe, her twin brother and mother, nothing was further from the truth. Their father’s abuse started when Chloe and her brother were only four years old. They needed free legal aid after exhausting their financial resources fighting domestic and child abuse in the courts for years without success.
After one more horrifying visit with their dad, Chloe’s mom gathered all the documentation of abuse and took her children to the police station. Fortunately, the on-duty detective knew about the local crisis shelter and recommended the family go there. In turn, the center contacted NLS for legal aid.
“Our NLS attorney refused to leave the courtroom until the judge agreed we weren’t safe with my dad. The abuse was finally over. I never saw my biological father again.”
- Chloe | Pittsburgh, PA
"Without Neighborhood Legal Services, I would have lost my home."
At age 86 and legally blind, Willa risked losing her home of 60 years to foreclosure for failing to make monthly payments that were substantially more than her monthly social security benefit. This untenable situation was created when a lender approached the elderly woman, who owned her home free and clear, and promised to make repairs in exchange for pacing a lien on the property.
Willa's home then was mortgaged for triple its market value and the promised repairs never started. NLS successfully defended against the Mortgage Foreclosure Complaint asking for damages against the lender. A negotiated settlement was reached requiring the lender to cancel her contract and the mortgage.
The Complaint was withdrawn and Willa again owns her home debt-free.
- Willa | Pittsburgh, PA