Your Mother’s Nursing Home Not Treating Her Right? Who Do You Call?

Apparently, the federal government is going to do even less than they already do when it comes to making sure nursing homes follow the laws and regulations that protect patients.  So, who do you call? Virginia’s Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program might be able to help.  Long-Term Care Ombudsman (LTC) advocate for older persons receiving long-term […]

Anti-Lunch Shaming Bill

By Kathleen Murphy Child Nutrition Specialist Virginia Hunger Solutions   Across the state, around 11 am, millions of students flood cafeterias ready to eat. Many have packed lunches from home. Others buy their lunches from the school cafeteria. As students approach the cash register they enter a pin number, say their name, or pay for the […]

Facts Not Funds

As you are aware, Virginia Poverty Law Center lobbies members of Virginia General Assembly on behalf of low-income Virginians.  We provide the public and policymakers the background knowledge, context, and understanding of how laws and regulations are affecting our clients.  Most of our lobbyists are lawyers experienced in not only policy advocacy but also litigation […]

Support William’s Christmas Wish

You’re most likely deep in holiday preparations. It’s a wonderful time of year to enjoy friends and family and pass along best wishes for good health, comfort, and joy. ‘Tis the Season! Access to affordable health care may not be on your list this year but see the young man in the brown jacket in […]

Virginians Should Insist On Fairness In Rent To Own Real Estate Transactions

  In recent years, some real estate entrepreneurs have begun marketing homes under so-called “rent-to-own” deals.  While the notion of renting-to-own can appeal to consumers as an affordable path to homeownership, in practice rent-to-own is most often a predatory scheme that saddles consumers with all the costs and burdens of home ownership (such as making […]

Worried about identity theft? Proposed new law in Virginia may help.

You may recall the massive Equifax data breach that compromised the personal information of 145 million Americans in September. As a result, millions of individuals’ names, Social Security numbers, birthdates, addresses, and in some cases driver’s license numbers, were all accessed. For many Americans, the Equifax data breach has substantially increased their risk of identity […]

Student Loan Debt Is Also Contributing To Virginia’s Teacher Shortage

Governor McAuliffe recently took emergency action because Virginia’s teacher shortage “is a growing crisis that we have to stop and reverse if we are serious about the commonwealth’s economic future.  High-quality teachers are the key to unlocking the potential in our children.”  Among other changes, the Governor wants to allow teachers to get into classrooms […]

Legal Education Forum – Tomorrow – Dec. 2nd 10:30 AM Donate A Tank of Gas – #GivingTuesday

I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday with your friends and family.  I spent mine in Newport News. I’m fortunate.  I have a car and the money to fill up the gas tank to make the drive there and back.  For $25 I was able to travel and spend the holidays with my family […]

Save The Date – #GivingTuesday is November 28th.

November 28th is #GivingTuesday.  It follows Black Friday and Cyber Monday, commercially designed days to have you spend money on material goods.  #GivingTuesday is dedicated to helping everyone make a difference for those who may not have the resources to take advantage of days like Black Friday and Cyber Monday.  And, I’m asking you to make […]

A message from Virginia to internet lenders that prey on our residents:

The Virginia Poverty Law Center has teamed up with the law firms of Kelly and Crandall and Consumer Litigation Associates.  Our goal is to “bite” unlawful internet lenders in a way that sends a message: Your loans violate state and federal law and are hurting Virginians by trapping them into extremely high-cost debt, ruining their […]

Why is Congress trying to gut laws passed to deal with Wall Street abuses?

The U.S. House of Representatives is set to vote on the so-called CHOICE Act, which would essentially undo all the protections put in place after the last Great Recession and bank bailout.   Here are a few questions we all must consider and ask of our Congressional representatives as they prepare to take America’s financial marketplace […]

Announcing VPLC’s New Senior Legal Helpline!

The Virginia Poverty Law Center is pleased to announce our new Statewide Senior Legal Helpline.  The helpline is made possible through a partnership with the Department for Aging and Rehabilitative Services.  Funding was made possible through the Legal Assistance Systems grant from the Administration on Community Living. The toll-free number (844-802-5910) is now available for […]

Virginia Legal Aid Programs Kick Off Expanded Services to Victims of Crime

On June 13th, new and experienced legal aid staff members funded by grants from the federal Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) will converge in Richmond to share information, resources and obtain training. Through VOCA funds newly made available to legal aid programs, Virginia’s legal aid agencies will provide increased and more comprehensive services to domestic […]

HAV Statement on passage of the American Health Care Act by the U.S. House of Representatives

The American Health Care Act adopted by the U.S. House of Representatives would have a devastating impact on Virginians if it becomes law. With no independent analysis of the most recent version, the House rushed this through without a full idea of its cost or how many people will now lose coverage. But with many […]

Virginians Need Medicaid Expansion

Jill Hanken, VPLC’s Director of Healthy Communities, letter to the editor was featured as the Correspondent of the Day, Tuesday, March 7, 2017, in the Richmond Times-Dispatch. Unfortunately, we were unable to find a link on their website to the letter.  Therefore below is a scan of Jill’s letter, explaining how Medicaid expansion could assist thousands […]

Kristi Kelly and Len Bennett Donate Their Time and Fees to Support Legal Aid in Virginia

Virginia legal aid programs are lucky to have private lawyers who donate their time, talent, and resources to help us represent our low-income clients.  Volunteer lawyers donated over 15,000 hours serving legal aid clients last year.  Sometimes private lawyers go above and beyond to support the work of Virginia legal aid programs. Kristi Kelly of Kelly […]

You’re Invited! Enroll Virginia – Affordable Care Act Update

Enroll Virginia – Affordable Care Act Update The open enrollment period for the Health Insurance Marketplace ended on January 31st, and millions of Americans were able to renew or gain health insurance coverage before this deadline. In Virginia, demand remained strong throughout Open Enrollment and 410,726 Virginians were enrolled in health coverage through the Marketplace. Navigators with Enroll Virginia […]

The Bad “Welfare Bills” Bills Are Dead

 Public Benefits Legislative Update                This year, the leadership of the House of Delegates unleashed a series of attacks against SNAP (food stamps) and TANF programs in the name of “welfare reform.”  These bills were designed to cut access to both programs resulting in irreparable harm to low-income families across Virginia.  VPLC has fought […]

$15 Million Settlement in a “Tribe for Hire” Scam!

Virginia Poverty Law Center filed a class action lawsuit almost 3 years ago after a man called our hotline about a loan he had received from Western Sky/Cashcall. VPLC’s Board Members Kristi Kelly and Len Bennett took on this case and both spent a lot of time and resources litigating this case. Virginia’s Attorney General’s […]

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