Blue Ridge Legal Services provides free legal assistance to thousands of low-income residents of the Shenandoah Valley.
One in five people in the Shenandoah Valley and Roanoke Valley are low-income and qualify for legal aid.
The need is great. 20% of Virginias cannot afford an attorney for common legal issues like wills or divorce. And the cost of a custody battle against an abuser, defense against a wrongful eviction, or regaining lost assets due to elder financial exploitations is simply out of the question.
We can only help 50% of the people that come to us.
Our limited capacity means we can’t help all the people who need us. Your gift means more help to more people – it’s as simple as that.
Three out of four low-income Virginians will face a legal issue in the next 12 months.
Without the ability to afford an attorney, our neighbors will be left with no help navigating the complicated waters of the American Legal system. Those that do get help are two times as likely to have a favorable outcome.
We rely on grants, foundations, and individual or corporate contributions.
The majority of our funding comes from Government sources, which is tied to the wind in Washington. We rely on local grants and foundations and contributions to weather the storm of funding that varies year to year.
The fine print
Because we are a 501(c)3 organization, your donation may be tax deductible.
BRLS is registered with the Commonwealth of Virginia’s Office of Consumer Affairs pursuant to the Virginia Solicitation of Contributions Law. A financial statement is available upon written request from the Office of Consumer Affairs.
Because BRLS receives funding from the Legal Services Corporation, we are required to notify all donors, including private donors, that we will not engage in advocacy activities prohibited by the LSC Act (42 USC 2996 et seq. or by Public Law 104-134) or LSC Appropriations Riders. See 45 CFR 1610. If you would like more information on these restrictions please call or email us at info@brls.org.