Grant to help low-income flood victims

An Arkansas legal aid organization has been awarded $500,000 in federal grant money to help low-income residents affected by flooding this year in 13 of the state's counties.

The Center for Arkansas Legal Services will use the money to provide legal help to residents in Arkansas, Conway, Crawford, Desha, Faulkner, Jefferson, Lincoln, Logan, Perry, Pope, Pulaski, Sebastian and Yell counties, according to the Washington, D.C.,-based Legal Services Corporation, which awarded the funds.

Legal aid attorneys can help disaster victims with issues such as finding temporary housing, filing insurance claims, replacing legal documents and negotiating with landlords, the Legal Services Corporation said in a news release.

The Center for Arkansas Legal Services will establish a disaster relief hotline, conduct outreach and "expand pro bono recruitment for disaster-related legal cases," according to the release.

Established by Congress in 1974, the Legal Services Corporation distributes funding to legal aid groups across the country.

The money going to Arkansas was part of $14 million awarded by the Legal Services Corporation to organizations for disaster relief in Alaska, Arkansas, California, Florida, Iowa, Micronesia, Nebraska, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma and Texas.

Metro on 12/18/2019

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