Vermont Legal Aid provides free civil legal services to poor, elderly and disabled Vermonters who would otherwise be denied justice or the necessities of life.
The Economic Opportunity Act of 1964 was the centerpiece of the War on Poverty and recognized the need to provide civil legal assistance to citizens unable to afford private legal advice. In Vermont, the EOA led to the creation of Vermont Legal Aid in 1968. Since then, VLA has been attorney, advocate and partner to disadvantaged Vermonters. Through a system of statewide offices in Burlington, Montpelier, Rutland, St. Johnsbury, Springfield and the state hospital in Waterbury, Vermont Legal Aid staff are advocates for the economic and social interests of Vermonters living in poverty, those living with a disability, and seniors.
In 1995, our partner agency, Legal Services Law Line, began providing legal services to Vermonters over the telephone. Together, Vermont Legal Aid and Legal Services Law Line serve almost 13,000 Vermonters annually.
Visit VLA Projects to learn more about Vermont Legal Aid’s work.
Vemont Legal Aid Client Stories:
Vermont Legal Aid Protects Families Living in Dangerous Substandard Housing
In 2008, Vermont Legal Aid helped several tenants sue the Department of Public Safety for its failure to enforce Vermont’s fire and safety codes. A Superior Court granted summary judgment in favor of the tenants. After the state appealed, the Supreme Court said, “The facts show that the Department’s failure to enforce the housing codes . . . resulted in a ‘wholesale failure’ to fulfill its enforcement duties in the period from May 13, 2002 through January 10, 2008.” As a result, the Department of Public Safety was ordered to enforce these important codes and has now developed significantly improved practices and procedures to help protect the health and safety of Vermont’s tenants.
Recently, four of the families who lived in the substandard apartment building brought suit, prevailed on all counts, and shared an award of $100,000 in compensatory and punitive damages. One tenant’s unit was such a fire hazard she was forced out of her apartment and had to live in an unfinished basement, and then in her car, for several months. Another tenant endured months of below freezing temperatures and a leaking roof. All of the units posed serious fire hazard risks to the tenants inhabiting them due to defective electrical systems and other problems.
Vermont Legal Aid Protects Senior Citizen From Abuse
An elderly man was residing in a nursing home for rehabilitation. His goal was to regain his health and return home. While in the nursing home, his stepchildren changed the locks on his home, removed his furniture and used undue influence to have him transfer his car’s title to their names. Once the man contacted Vermont Legal Aid, VLA filed a request for a temporary restraining order claiming abuse and financial exploitation of a vulnerable adult. The restraining order was granted and VLA negotiated a settlement among the parties in which the stepchildren agreed to return the elder’s furniture and belongings, transfer the car back into his name, and stay away from him and his home.
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