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Helping ease students’ debt load
Low-to-moderate income city residents can get help with foreclosure mediations or find referrals to attorneys who practice in a range of areas, all through local nonprofit Civil Justice Inc.
5 contractors get weatherization grants
Five Maryland contractors who provide weatherization services to low-income households have been awarded $3.3 million each through the Department of Housing and Community Development’s Targeted and Enhanced Weatherization program: Edge Energy (Beltsville), Green and Healthy Homes (Baltimore), Hawkeye Construction (Baltimore), Elysian Energy (Silver Spring) and ADP Consultants (Potomac). Fund[...]
Report says poor are moving to nation’s suburbs
LOS ANGELES — A new report shows more poor people have moved to the nation’s suburbs, outnumbering those in urban areas. The Brookings Institution study released Monday says those in poverty living in suburbs jumped 67 percent between 2000 and 2011. But suburbs still have a smaller percentage of their population living in poverty than […]
O’Malley signs filing-fee surcharge bill
Gov. Martin O’Malley signed into law a measure extending surcharges on filing fees in civil cases until June 30, 2018, securing a revenue source that provides about $6 million annually for legal services to low-income Marylanders.
Wal-Mart brings back holiday layaway
NEW YORK — After seeing high customer demand for layaway during last year’s winter holiday season, Wal-Mart is expanding the interest-free pay-over-time program for Christmas. The new program will last a month longer than last year’s and will include more items than the toys and electronics featured last year. The world’s largest retailer says its […]
Kathleen Westcoat: Health care ruling impact looms large for state
Media coverage of the U.S. Supreme Court’s pending decision about the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act has tended to focus on legal issues, such as the individual mandate, or the political implications for President Barack Obama and other national leaders. But as we wait for the decision, it’s critical to remind ourselves that tens […]
FreeState hopes to step up outreach, double its services to Md.’s low-income LGBT community
Lee Ann Hopkins spends each day in a tiny brick-walled office crammed with books and fliers on FreeState Legal Project, of which she is the executive director — and only employee. “I wear all the hats,” Hopkins said. “I am the executive director, the intake coordinator, case manager, trainer, outreach coordinator, volunteer coordinator, attorney recruiter […]
Joe Surkiewicz: Family advocacy center does more with less
For a snapshot of the state of legal services in the Great Recession, look southward to the peninsula between the Potomac and the Chesapeake, where the Southern Maryland Center for Family Advocacy does more with less for vulnerable low-income clients. Demand is up significantly, reported Laura Joyce, the center’s executive director. Funding, needless to say, […]
Medicaid family planning benefits to expand in Maryland
ANNAPOLIS — More low-income women will be eligible for Medicaid family planning services in Maryland next week when a new law takes effect. The expansion will allow Maryland women who are at or below 200 percent of the poverty level and under 51 years of age to be eligible for services such as pelvic exams, […]
Census shows 1 in 2 people are poor or low-income
WASHINGTON — Squeezed by rising living costs, a record number of Americans — nearly 1 in 2 — have fallen into poverty or are scraping by on earnings that classify them as low income. The latest census data depict a middle class that’s shrinking as unemployment stays high and the government’s safety net frays. The […]
Maryland Legal aid office sees workload increase
ANNAPOLIS — They line up before the doors open, needing help in areas they never imagined — cash assistance, unemployment, food stamps. In the lobby of the Maryland Legal Aid office, attorneys scramble to find chairs for an overflow of people seeking a legal hand. They’re people such as David Gaines and Margaret Sullivan. Gaines, […]
Baltimore gets $759K grant from feds for Howard Park grocery
A $759,000 federal community development grant was given to officials of the city’s Howard Park community Monday to help build a new grocery store there. The grant was made as part of a national Healthy Food Financing Initiative and is one of 12 nationally. The initiative aims to eliminate “food deserts” in low-income and rural […]
