The Center for Non-Profit Legal Services, Inc. (CNPLS) brings legal structure and resolution to social problems, which may be spiraling out of control, by providing high quality civil legal representation to low-income and elder residents of Jackson County. Clients include individuals or families living at or below 125 percent of the federal poverty level and/or are over 60, who are struggling with problems such as domestic violence, homelessness and hunger. Our clients frequently lack appropriate physical and mental health care and may have language and cultural barriers. We concentrate our efforts on protecting their right to access high priority survival needs: food, shelter, medical care, income maintenance, immigration, protective services and domestic relations cases involving disputes with children and/or child or spousal abuse.

The specific legal needs based on the percentage of our 1,625 clients requiring legal representation in 2007 were:

Details of each of the areas of assistance.

• Housing/Consumer Law – Works to prevent homelessness and to maintain safe and affordable housing; to protect consumers from unlawful trade practice and predatory lending practices
• Family Law - Provides peaceable means of resolving conflict, especially domestic violence, in families with minor children
• Public Benefits – Works to secure stable state and federal assistance and to secure fair and lawful treatment by government agencies
• Employment/Individual Rights through the Immigration Law Project and Public Guardian Program - concentrates on protecting individuals and families with special needs
  • Access to employment throught expungement
  • Wage Claims

Community Outreach

• Housing/Consumer – DASIL/Second Chance Renters Workshops Predatory Lending Workshops
• Family Law
• Public Benefits – Disabled United in Direct Empowerment (DUDE)
• Employment/Individual Rights – Immigration Law Project: Immigration Workshops