Linda A. Klein and Patricia Bennett

Guest Columnists

When ordinary Americans need help with life’s big problems, the Legal Services Corp. is there. But its survival is threatened. That’s why it needs help from every resident of Mississippi.

What does the LSC do to protect low-income individuals and families who can’t afford a lawyer? Here’s a recent story from Mississippi.

Gus Lloyd moved from Chicago to Mississippi to care for his elderly, ill mother. The house where they lived was almost uninhabitable, with a leaky roof, a shifting foundation and crumbling siding, but Lloyd couldn’t get a repair loan because of title problems. With no money to hire a lawyer, Lloyd turned to the Mississippi Center for Legal Services for help. A legal aid lawyer got a court order transferring title of the house to Lloyd, who then qualified for a loan and hired a contractor. The house was saved.

There are many people like Gus Lloyd around the country. Nationwide, LSC provides civil legal aid to nearly 2 million low-income people every year. To qualify, a family of four in the contiguous United States must earn less than $30,750 per year.

LSC secures housing for veterans, frees seniors from scams, serves rural areas when others won’t, protects victims of domestic violence and helps disaster survivors. It assists veterans and seniors who are about to lose their homes. It helps Americans receive government benefits they have earned.

Now, the White House is proposing to eliminate all federal funding for the Legal Services Corp.

Whenever we recite the Pledge of Allegiance, we reaffirm our belief in the idea of “liberty and justice for all.” It’s part of what makes us Americans. It’s a principle that applies to all people, regardless of income. That’s why it’s so important for Congress to sustain funding for the Legal Services Corp. — money that supports 800 legal aid offices across the country, in every congressional district.

In Mississippi, LSC funds nine legal aid offices. Every year, more than 50 lawyers and legal professionals help 27,000 Mississippi residents who can’t afford private lawyers, many with domestic violence issues, consumer problems and landlord-tenant issues.

And LSC does this at a reasonable cost. Last year, the federal government allocated $385 million for LSC, or a little more than $1 for every American. That’s about $200 million less than what Americans spent on Valentine’s Day gifts in 2017 — for their pets!

The Mississippi Center for Legal Services receives $2.5 million a year from LSC — about three-quarters of its budget. It’s a good investment. Many studies show legal aid returns far more to communities than it costs. If veterans become homeless, or seniors lose their money to scams, or disaster victims can’t rebuild, they cost society far more.

The American Bar Association has strongly supported LSC since its creation under President Richard Nixon in 1974. Since then, the need for legal aid has grown. The number of Americans eligible for legal assistance has ballooned to 60 million, but half of all qualified clients are turned away because of a lack of resources.

For those who need its services, LSC is a lifesaver. Help us save the Legal Services Corp. and the good work it does. Go to DefendLegalAid.org to send a message to your elected representatives in Congress.

Support for LSC has always been bipartisan. Mississippi U.S. Sen. Thad Cochran chairs the Senate Appropriations Committee and has often been a loyal supporter of the LSC. We have every expectation that he will remain a friend to the LSC and people in need.

Without the Legal Services Corp., millions of Americans would be shut out of the justice system. That’s not right. Equal justice is a basic principle of our national Constitution. It should be protected by our federal government. That’s why funding LSC is so vital.

Linda A. Klein is president of the American Bar Association and a senior managing shareholder at Baker Donelson Bearman Caldwell & Berkowitz, based in Atlanta. Patricia Bennett is interim dean of Mississippi College School of Law.