NEIGHBORHOOD LEGAL SERVICES 30 years of free help for people who need it

The nonprofit agency now has four locations.
By LAURE CIOFFI
VINDICATOR NEW CASTLE BUREAU
NEW CASTLE, Pa. -- It was a chance meeting 30 years ago with a friend from law school that set Frank Piatek on a new career path and the beginnings of Neighborhood Legal Services in Lawrence County.
The agency that provides free civil legal services to low income people is celebrating those beginnings next month.
Piatek, 57, said he happened to be walking downtown when he ran into his friend and another man who told him they were looking to establish a legal services office.
"In a joking way, I laughed and said I should apply, and I did," Piatek said.
In September 1974, Piatek was the attorney who opened the office, where he still works.
Located in the Temple Building downtown, Neighborhood Legal Services serves about 1,000 people annually on short-term civil cases ranging from protection from abuse orders to predatory lending cases.
"We primarily target our work toward helping people keep the basic necessities of life," said Michelle DeBord, managing attorney for the office. That work includes helping people with public assistance benefits, Social Security disability and housing disputes.
DeBord is also in charge of offices in Beaver and Butler counties that also started work in 1974. A fourth office in Allegheny County opened earlier.
Funding
The nonprofit agency is funded by the federal government through the Legal Services Corporation, an independent nonprofit originally formed by Richard Nixon. Also, there are grants from the Department of Public Welfare and interest generated by lawyer trust accounts -- accounts used by attorneys for short-term deposits, DeBord explained.
Recent funding cuts have caused the group to scale back its program in Allegheny County but has not affected the other three counties, she said.
Clients are usually referred to the agency through social service agencies who are helping them deal with other problems, she said.
There are financial eligibility guidelines. DeBord said that a single person with a gross monthly income of no more than $970 would qualify, as would a family of four with a gross monthly income of no more than $1,964. She said all victims of domestic violence are represented for protection of abuse orders regardless of income.
The agency got its start through the work of local bar associations in the counties it serves and judicial leaders, DeBord said.
Filling a void
Prior to Neighborhood Legal Services establishing in Lawrence County, Piatek said people unable to afford attorneys often were helped on an intermittent basis by attorneys working for free.
"That was hit or miss," he said. "There was no institutionalized program."
The number of office staff has gone up and down through the years depending on the funding available. The office now has two attorneys, Piatek and attorney Mark Krochka. DeBord handles cases from time to time in Lawrence County, also. Claudia Bistyga, office manager and paralegal, has been with the office the past 20 years.
"It's a wonderful thing to see some of these people get a fresh start in life. Finally have the courage to walk away from a bad situation and take the legal steps to protect themselves," DeBord said.
cioffi@vindy.com