November 9, 2020

Community Legal Aid Announces Funding for Case Manager to Provide Holistic Help to Clients

SPRINGFIELD, MA Community Legal Aid (CLA), a non-profit organization that provides free legal services to low-income and elderly residents of Western and Central Massachusetts, is pleased to announce that it has been awarded funding to hire a Case Manager to assist its housing clients in Western Massachusetts. Funding for this new position has been generously provided by Health New England and the Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts’ COVID-19 Response Fund.

The fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic has plunged many low-income community members into economic instability, putting them at risk of eviction and homelessness. Community Legal Aid’s advocates provide legal assistance to defend against evictions, but the crisis has also created or worsened financial, social, medical, and mental health issues severe enough to impact people’s ability to maintain stable housing and successful tenancies. The role of the Case Manager will be to work in collaboration with Community Legal Aid’s housing attorneys to identify non-legal barriers and secure needed services to remove them. For example, the Case Manager will help tenants access rental assistance programs to pay off rental arrearages, thereby avoiding eviction and homelessness. The Case Manager will also help clients obtain benefits like food stamps or health benefits for medical or mental health problems.

Community Legal Aid is the civil legal aid program that provides free legal services to low-income and elderly families and individuals throughout the five counties of Central and Western Massachusetts (Hampden, Hampshire, Franklin, Berkshire and Worcester).  For more information, please visit communitylegal.org.

Contact:  Thomas Navin, Development Director

Phone: (413) 727-7115

Email: tnavin@cla-ma.org