Maryland Congressional Delegation Announces More Than $422,000 in COVID-19 Relief Funding for Legal Aid Services
The full Maryland congressional delegation, including U.S. Senators Chris Van Hollen and Ben Cardin and Congressmen Steny H. Hoyer, Dutch Ruppersberger, John P. Sarbanes, Andy Harris, M.D., Anthony G. Brown, Jamie B. Raskin and David Trone, today announced $422,690 in federal funding for Maryland Legal Aid (MLA) to provide legal services to low-income Marylanders.
Funding comes from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, which authorized $50 million nationwide to the Legal Services Corporation (LSC), an independent nonprofit established by Congress in 1974 to support civil legal aid services for low-income Marylanders. MLA will use this new federal funding to help Marylanders navigate legal problems stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic – including job losses, senior scams, evictions and domestic violence.
“The COVID-19 public health emergency has presented far-reaching and complex challenges for many Marylanders across the state, especially for individuals who have lost jobs as a result of the pandemic and those living in underserved communities that lack adequate legal services,” the delegation said. “We will continue to fight for robust federal resources to ensure that all Marylanders are protected under the law.”
MLA is the largest provider of free legal aid in Maryland, offering a full range of legal services to low-income Marylanders across the state. MLA handles civil cases involving an array of issues, including child custody, housing, public benefits, consumer law (e.g., bankruptcy and debt collection) and criminal record expungements to remove barriers to obtaining child custody, housing and employment. See here for additional information about MLA’s mission and services.
The delegation has previously announced funding for Maryland through the CARES Act including $1.6 million to create temporary disaster relief jobs, $45 million for child care centers, $45 million for the Governor’s emergency education relief fund, $170 million for Maryland’s institutions of higher education, $107 million for airports, $742 million for hospitals and health care providers, $15.6 million for community health centers and $48 million to Maryland local government jurisdictions.