During our meeting before the holiday break, we hosted Nora Ryan, the Director of Michigan Legal Help, and Sandra Ambrozy, a legal self-help center volunteer, who spoke about Michigan Legal Help and its mission to assist those facing civil legal issues.
With one in six people facing civil legal issues, Michigan Legal Help provides support to those who need it. In America, only criminal cases guarantee a right to counsel, leaving those facing civil issues unable to afford attorneys. In civil legal cases in state court 75% of the time at least one side does not have an attorney. This puts those without counsel at great risk of being underprepared and uneducated when stepping into court.
Michigan Legal Help sees over 50-70 people daily at each self-help center. Many of those seeking help need assistance with basic legal motions, such as filing for divorce. While the center provides legal information, it does not offer legal advice. This allows people to make decisions, with a volunteer guiding them through the process of preparing for court.
The Michigan Legal Help website assists roughly 150,000 users every year. A wealth of legal information can be found on their website free of cost, including the "Know Your Rights" section, which offers basic legal information on topics ranging from signing a lease to navigating child custody issues.
Throughout Michigan, there are multiple self-help centers across the state. When the service was founded in 2012, the goal was to assist as many people as possible. Now, it helps over 2 million people each year. Thank you, Sandra Ambrozy and Nora Ryan, for teaching us!
Visit https://michiganlegalhelp.org/ for more information or help.