News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
A new online classroom offers free legal information to Upper Cumberland residents in an effort to bridge the justice gap.
The Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands launched the Community Classroom. Executive Director DarKenya Waller said the free resource provides legal education about the most pressing issues faced by low income Tennesseans. Waller said the classroom includes materials about mediation, eviction, how to file a slow-pay motion, and more.
“So it’s kind of those everyday questions that people have that they really would love to be able to talk to a lawyer about,” Waller said. “Questions that we get all the time, and it makes sense for us to put it in a pamphlet or booklet format to kind of answer those recurring questions that come along.”
Waller said the materials will be presented in a simple, readable format in multiple languages to ensure that people can not only read them, but understand the information inside. Waller said there is one Legal Aid attorney for every eight thousand people who are eligible for their services in middle Tennessee.
“Ninety-two percent of the legal needs of low income people are not met according to a Legal Services Corporation Justice Gap Survey,” Waller said.
She said the Legal Aid Society hopes to continually update the classroom with new resources and subjects as time goes on.
“We’re always looking to add more questions that we can answer and to be able to translate those into short videos that people can watch and get the answer they need, or forms they can fill out that can be used within the court system,” Waller said.
Waller said the community classroom was created with the effort of over one hundred employees at the Legal Aid Society.
“It’s led by our communications manager, Theresa Morrison,” Waller said. “And through her we kind of harness the collective expertise of a fifty-five year old organization to produce timely, accurate, and helpful materials geared towards the consumer.”
