Legal Assistance

The Legal Assistance Center of WNC

The Legal Assistance Center of WNC is a project that has sprung from the experiences we have gained working with battered women through Mitchell County SafePlace. Over the course of its ten-year history, Mitchell County SafePlace has struggled to meet all the legal needs of victims of domestic violence, rape and sexual assault. As time has gone by and economic conditions have worsened it has become even more difficult to meet these needs.

The legal needs of victims of domestic violence are many. The Domestic Violence Protective Order (DVPO) is only the tip of the iceberg when we talk about DV victim legal needs. Divorce and the just distribution of marital assets, estate planning and wills are just a few of the needs of DV victims that are not being adequately addressed through current legal resources. These are just some of the civil needs.

Often we have clients who commit criminal offenses due to their DV victimization. This could include a woman who writes a bad check because her abuser wouldn’t give her grocery money or a woman who acted in concert to a drug sale or manufacture because she was afraid to say no. Since the abuser has control of all finances she is unable to hire an attorney even though the family has enough resources so she doesn’t qualify for a court appointed attorney. You might wonder what she does under these circumstances. Currently, the answer is, they do without. Many women are left to deal with a criminal justice system by themselves and end up being convicted and receiving harsher sentences than is necessary.

Services offered currently by The Legal Assistance Center are:

• Referrals for free or low cost legal representation
• Free assessment of needs by the Program Coordinator
• Free consultation with attorneys
• Court advocacy
• Transportation assistance
• Referrals for community services, i.e. prescription drug assistance, job placement assistance, education , etc.
• Safety planning
• Case management

Basically, The Legal Assistance Center of WNC serves as a buffer between the client and the legal justice system; providing what resources are needed to help clients move beyond victimization.

We belive that domestic violence must be fought on many fronts. Through education, emergency services to current victims, law enforcement and the legal justice system, we can someday eliminate this blight on society. The Legal Assistance Center of WNC may not be the cure, but it will be an important tool.

The Legal Assistance Center of WNC is a project of Mitchell County SafePlace, a 501c (3) non-profit organization and is funded by a grant from the Governor’s Crime Commission. The Legal Assistance Center is dedicated to helping victims of domestic violence, rape and sexual assault achieve some measure of justice in the civil court system. We serve Avery, Mitchell and Yancey Counties, all in the 24th Judicial District of North Carolina.

All services of The Legal Assistance Center of WNC are offered free of charge.

"None of us has gotten where we are solely by pulling ourselves up from our own bootstraps. We got here because someone bent down and helped us."
Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall