LOur mission is thoroughly entwined with the pursuit of financial security. For many people living in poverty, the obstacles they face are part of larger cycles of poverty. Clients living paycheck-to-paycheck can be devastated by a single financial disruption.
A wage garnishment, for example, which we often see because of predatory car dealers and lenders, does not occur randomly. It is the result of a very difficult cycle of poverty.
Most people living in Central and Southeastern Ohio need a vehicle to get to work. However, low wage jobs rarely pay enough to allow workers to save for a significant down payment on a car, and provide little opportunity to build a positive credit history to secure a favorable loan. As a result, low-income consumers turn to used car lots offering buy-here-pay-here and other subprime financing. Too many of these dealers prey on desperate customers, especially with the recent supply chain shortages, and sell defective cars at exorbitant prices with hidden fees and interest rates approaching 25%.
While the consumer may initially be able to make the payments, paying off the loan would be difficult. Often, the buyer either misses payments due to the financial burden, or the car itself fails before the loan has even matured. And often it does not take long for the car to break down as we see many clients whose cars become inoperable within a week of the sale. This leads to a repossession, at which point the buyer often has a balance that is far more than the lender will recoup at auction.
With a large amount owed, the debt ends up in court. Unfortunately, customers are often unable to afford legal representation, leading to an easy judgment for the lender. This judgment allows the lender to obtain a garnishment, which in Ohio is 25% of wages regardless of how many children are in the household. At this point, the person is without a vehicle, has another negative mark on their credit, and has even less ability to save due to the wage garnishment. Needing a vehicle to get to work, the client finds another defective car at another predatory dealer and the cycle begins again. For many, this cycle feels inescapable, and as long as the cycle continues, financial security is unobtainable.
BreAnthony spent two months trying to get help from the car lot that sold him a shoddy used Cadillac. The car broke down less than a week after he bought it. "They didn't care about what was happening to me," he said of his attempts to get the car repaired. "They gave me every excuse in the book."
Finally he called Legal Aid and Attorney Pat Skilliter helped him secure a refund.
Part of Legal Aid of Southeast and Central Ohio’s mission is to break this cycle. We help clients get relief from illegal transactions and represent them in suits against these predatory lenders, potentially stopping the cycle and putting money into the hands of the consumer. We can also stop collections and clean up credit history through our bankruptcy work. These actions help disrupt the cycle of financial instability and encourage long-term financial growth. ast year, Legal Aid of Southeast and Central Ohio helped almost 40,000 people across our 36 counties. This includes families, children, seniors, individuals with disabilities, veterans, and numerous other groups of people. The areas in which we represented clients were also broad, including housing, domestic, consumer, benefits, re-entry, tax, employment, education, and more.
We are proud of our work, but the need for critical legal services for those living in poverty far outpaces our capacity. Unlike in the criminal legal system, there is no right to counsel for individuals on the civil side. As a result, families at risk of losing their housing, domestic violence survivors going through a divorce or custody dispute, or those who are not receiving the benefits or special education services they are entitled to are not provided a lawyer if they cannot afford one.
Three out of four low-income households experienced at least one civil legal problem in the last year, according to The Justice Gap: The Unmet Needs of Low-Income Americans, a report released in 2022 by Legal Services Corporation (LSC). The report also found that 49% of households experienced five or more legal issues, with 55% stating that these problems substantially impacted their lives.
Further, the study found that most low-income Americans do not get any or enough legal help for their civil legal problems and the cost of legal help stands out as an important barrier. Due to limited funds, Legal Aids like ours must turn away one out of every two requests for legal assistance. Even when we are able to provide some help, Legal Aids only have the resources to resolve 56% of the legal issues. These national numbers are consistent with our experience.
While those are difficult statistics to read, it is critical to understand the Justice Gap so that we can all continue to take steps to reduce it. Pro bono assistance, donations, partnerships, and more all help us to provide better access to justice throughout Southeast and Central Ohio. We encourage you to get involved and help us ensure that all Ohioans—regardless of income—can access justice.
