The Legal Aid Foundation of Colorado raises money for Colorado Legal Services (CLS), Colorado’s statewide Legal Aid program. CLS is the only agency in the state that provides free legal services in civil cases to clients who could not otherwise afford them in every Colorado county through a network of 13 offices.

Priority is given to addressing the legal needs of low-income people required to maintain the basic necessities of a life, including adequate income, food, shelter, utilities, necessary medical care, and freedom from domestic violence and financial exploitation.

Every year, CLS directly serves over 10,000 Coloradans, and it stretches its limited resources with clinics, self-help materials and technology, including interactive online legal forms, to help many more.

CLS also plays a pivotal role in the development, coordination, support, and most effective use of private pro bono resources across the state.

89% of CLS’s resources are expended for the direct delivery of legal services

“A trusting widow, swindled by a smooth-talking loan shark, suddenly faces eviction from the home she’s owned for decades. An injured veteran caught in bureaucratic red tape is denied services he needs and has earned. A fearful mother stays in an abusive relationship because the alternatives seem worse. These disturbing situations are all-too common in our great country. Without appropriate legal expertise, many of them have unjust endings.”

             – John G. Levin, Chairman of Legal Services Corporation Board of Directors.

Who we serve

The Legal Aid Foundation of Colorado is the fundraising arm of Colorado Legal Services (CLS). With few exceptions, CLS clients are living at or below 125% of the federal poverty guideline, which means an annual income ceiling of $15,613 for an individual and $32,188 for a family of four.

CLS has 13 offices across the state, and only 57 lawyers on staff to serve over 750,000 income-eligible Coloradans. By comparison, there are now 535,410 public defenders in the state to serve the indigent in serious criminal matters.

For every client served by CLS, at least one income-eligible person is turned away. Even those who are served often receive only limited assistance when more extended representation is indicated.

Areas of Service in 2019

  • 37 percent – Housing
  • 24 percent – Family Law & Domestic Violence
  • 18 percent – Employment, Health, Individual Rights & Misc.
  • 16 percent – Consumer & Finance
  • 5 percent – Income Maintenance

Legal Aid Helps With

  • Prevents evictions and homelessness
  • Avoids mortgage or property tax foreclosures
  • Obtains divorces, custody and child support for victims of domestic violence
  • Assists individuals and families with legal issues arising from the opioid crisis
  • Improves family economic stability
  • Maintains parent/child relationships in guardianship cases
  • Prevents utility shut-offs
  • Gains admission to low-income housing
  • Enforces a tenant’s right to repairs
  • Assists people with disabilities in obtaining public assistance

 

  • Helps individuals and families maintain necessary public benefits
  • Assists veterans in obtaining benefits to which they are entitle
  • Helps homeowners with foreclosure scams and predatory lending
  • Stops or reduces debt collection activity
  • Overcomes unfair or illegal sales contracts
  • Enforces contract and warranty rights
  • Bankruptcy protection
  • Prevents nursing home evictions
  • Helps families secure or maintain health insurance
  • State identification or powers of attorney for health care