January 9, 2023

Community Legal Aid Receives Funding to Help People with Criminal Records Overcome Barriers in Housing and Employment

BY Contact: Alyssa Golden, Senior Supervising Attorney (413) 582-1377

Community Legal Aid, the non-profit civil legal aid program serving the low-income and elderly residents of Berkshire, Franklin, Hampden, Hampshire, and Worcester Counties, has received new funding to rapidly expand its CORI (Criminal Offender Record Information)/Re-entry Project throughout its service area.

Persons recently released from incarceration, and those with criminal records, can face many challenges, including barriers to housing and employment opportunities. Funding from the Massachusetts Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development Community Empowerment and Reinvestment Grant Program will support Community Legal Aid’s work on behalf of its clients to address the civil consequences of the criminal court system through advocacy and education. With this funding of $292,000, 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 work is supervised by Attorney Alyssa Golden. She leads a team of four Project attorneys working out of Community Legal Aid’s offices in Northampton, Springfield, Pittsfield, and Worcester. Last year, the Project assisted over 200 people with expungement and sealing of records. In addition to serving individuals with criminal record-related issues, Attorney Golden and her team conduct trainings for community members and staff at direct service organizations.

Said Golden, “Criminal records have a devastating impact on individuals and families across the state. Civil legal assistance plays an important role in the fight to ensure access to cornerstone needs, like housing and stable sources of income. The health and well-being of communities depends on the access to resources, stability, and support of each community member. Our goal is to remove barriers whenever possible.”

In addition, Community Legal Aid received other new CORI-related grant awards from the Gardiner Howland Shaw Foundation and Town of Great Barrington’s Community Impact Funding. The funding from the Gardiner Howland Shaw Foundation allows Community Legal Aid to allocate resources specifically to assisting at least 20 individuals in Worcester County with criminal records issues and will have a significant impact in helping Community Legal Aid address the challenges facing community members. Community Legal Aid will use the funding from the Town of Great Barrington to expunge cannabis-related convictions and seal other records for residents of Berkshire County. Community Legal Aid appreciates the generous support of these funders.

About Community Legal Aid:
Community Legal Aid provides free civil legal services to the low-income and elderly residents of the five counties of Western and Central Massachusetts (Berkshire, Franklin, Hampden, Hampshire, and Worcester), and maintains offices in Worcester, Fitchburg, Springfield, Northampton, and Pittsfield. CLA works to assure fairness for all in the justice system, protecting homes, livelihoods, health, and families. For more information, please visit www.communitylegal.org.