A legal aid group in the Shenandoah Valley says recession can mean bankruptcy, divorce, or trouble with payday lenders. Blue Ridge Legal Services says it cannot even come close to meeting the demand for its free courtroom help.

A courthouse is an intimidating even unfair place if you cannot afford an attorney. Blue Ridge Legal Services aims to make sure the scales are balanced for low income clients in the Shenandoah Valley and a tough economy has them more needed than ever.

John Whitfield, director of Blue Ridge Legal Services said, "We're busy in good times. When a recession rolls in, the demand for our services increases exponentially. But our resources don't. In fact sometimes they decline, which makes it kind of cruel."

Many of its clients are working to avoid foreclosure or eviction, others are struggling with unemployment claims, and many more face the prospect of bankruptcy. Blue Ridge handles up to 2,000 cases like these every year but has to say no to many more.

Whitfield stated, "Every day they're sitting across the desk from someone who desperately needs their services and struggling with, 'but if I take this case what about the case I took yesterday and the day before and the day before? How can I? I can't possibly do them all.'"

The non-profit has only five attorneys on staff to handle cases in dozens of courts. Their salaries are paid in large part from donations through the United Way.

Reported by Ken Slack
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