LSV and VLA Publish a New Vermont Legal Needs Assessment
Statewide study reports on persistent areas of unmet civil legal need
Burlington, Vt. — A new report shows that Vermonters — especially low-income and vulnerable Vermonters — are facing broad and substantial unmet civil legal needs. In the five years since the last statewide study, these needs have increased substantially. The widening gap between legal needs and services is often called the “justice gap.”
Legal needs are present across the entire spectrum of civil legal subject areas, but several areas stand out. In particular, the data clearly shows that Vermonters are facing eviction and other housing legal issues at a crisis level.
Legal Services Vermont and Vermont Legal Aid reviewed a broad range of objective and subjective data, including requests for help to their systems, web analytics, court data, and input through public meetings and surveys, to determine the most persistent areas of unmet civil legal need.
Civil legal aid encompasses many essential aspects of a Vermonter’s life, including help for victims of crime and abuse, but it does not include criminal law.
The study shows these central trends:
- There is a significant increase in demand for civil legal assistance.
- Vermont has an eviction crisis, with pervasive and destabilizing impacts on low-income Vermonters.
- People need help navigating the healthcare system and keeping insurance.
- Family law continues as a high area of unmet need.
- Vermonters want more easily available and in-person legal assistance.
“Our report makes it clear that the ‘justice gap’ is widening and we need to bridge that gap in Vermont,” said Sam Abel-Palmer, Executive Director of Legal Services Vermont.
The state’s broader legal services community will receive the report. Abel-Palmer said some of these legal needs may be met by adjusting priorities to more closely match the demands identified by this study. But any meaningful efforts to meet the broad and persistent legal needs of Vermonters will only be met by expanding resources substantially beyond current levels.
“Our goal is to have a coordinated review of the best ways to address these unmet needs,” said Abel-Palmer. “Organizations like ours stretch our modest funding as far as possible, so we need to find new and additional funding to help Vermonters in need.”
Follow this link to read the Vermont Legal Needs Assessment.
Legal Services Vermont and Vermont Legal Aid work together to provide free help for civil (not criminal) legal problems. They share a statewide legal help line and legal help website at VTLawHelp.org. Eligibility for advice or services varies according to funding levels and funding sources.