Community Legal Aid, the nonprofit civil legal aid program serving low-income and elderly residents of Berkshire, Franklin, Hampden, Hampshire, and Worcester counties, has received renewed funding for its CORI (Criminal Offender Record Information)/Re-entry Project, which serves clients in all five counties. Funding from the Massachusetts Executive Office of Economic Development’s Community Empowerment and Reinvestment Grant Program will support Community Legal Aid’s advocacy and community education efforts to address the civil consequences of clients’ involvement with the criminal court system. With this funding, Community Legal Aid will focus on assisting residents of Central and Western Massachusetts overcome barriers to housing and employment due to the presence of a criminal record.
Community Legal Aid’s CORI/Re-entry unit is supervised by attorney Alyssa Golden, who leads a team of attorneys working out of offices in Northampton, Springfield, Pittsfield and Worcester. Last year, the project assisted over 200 people with expungement and sealing of records. Golden and her team also conduct training for community members and staff at local social service organizations.
