Every year, thousands of low-income residents face homelessness, hunger and fear of abuse because they cannot afford to hire an attorney. Unlike criminal defendants, New Hampshire residents with civil legal needs have no constitutional guarantee to counsel.
When we think of our most vulnerable neighbors facing injustice alone, we are inspired to support the Campaign for Legal Services, which raises funds for New Hampshire Legal Assistance and the Legal Advice and Referral Center.
NHLA and LARC helped nearly 25,000 New Hampshire residents last year, despite receiving funding to address only a portion of the estimated need.
We are writing today to make readers aware of these important programs, and to celebrate the campaign’s selection of Justice John T. Broderick Jr. as the first recipient of the John E. Tobin Jr. Justice Award, to be presented at the Campaign Kick-off Breakfast on May 26 in Concord.
Protecting a family from an illegal eviction makes them safe, secure and stable. Helping a veteran access earned benefits allows him to buy groceries and pay utilities.
This is why Northeast Delta Dental and the Sedoric Group of Wells Fargo Advisors have joined Bernstein Shur, Nixon Peabody and Pierce Atwood in sponsoring the 2016 Campaign Kick-off Breakfast. Lawyers in New Hampshire have long shown generous support for legal services. But we all should support civil legal services, to make real the promise of “justice for all” in our Pledge of Allegiance.
To register for the 2016 Campaign Kick-Off Breakfast or learn more about legal aid, visit www.nh-cls.org.
Tom Raffio
Bow
Tom Sedoric
Rye