Free Legal Advice offered Tuesday at Radford Public Library by Southwest Virginia Legal Aid Society

CHRISTIANSBURG, Va. – Southwest Virginia Legal Aid Society is providing free legal consultation services on Tuesday at the Radford Public Library, offering essential guidance on things like estate planning, Medicare, Medicaid and compensation matters to residents.

The event, scheduled for 10 a.m. through 2 p.m., primarily targets seniors, veterans and first responders, though services are available to all community members seeking legal assistance.

“Anytime anybody can get all their civil legal matters out of the way, they can go out through life and they won’t have any stress. It’s a stress reliever in a sense to have a legal matter sitting there on the record or have a situation that they are unsure of,” said Director of Outreach Gary Cody with Southwest Virginia Legal Aid Society.

The nonprofit law firm serves 17 counties and four small cities in Southwest Virginia through offices in Christiansburg, Marion and Castlewood. The organization helps about 2,500 clients, benefiting approximately 6,000 people in households across the region.

The group mainly helps with housing cases, such as evictions, property and family law, custody and protective orders when there is domestic violence.

Tuesday’s event features private attorneys providing free consultations without typical income eligibility requirements. The organization normally serves low-income residents who meet federal poverty guidelines, but Law Day events allow them to reach more community members.

“For a lot of people, it’s their day in court. We prevent evictions, or we can negotiate with landlords to give people a better outcome with housing. And for domestic violence victims, it’s protection and a way to ensure that they keep their children,” said Managing Attorney Kathryn Blauth with Southwest Virginia Legal Aid Society’s Christiansburg office.

There will be other community organizations at the event, too, including the Family Resource Center.

“Every client we help is a win; every client we speak with is a win, even if we can’t help them. So they at least know that everything is done right, either with housing evictions, protective orders or visitation and custody,” Blauth noted.

Southwest Virginia Legal Aid Society recently held similar events in Wytheville and Christiansburg.

For those unable to attend Tuesday’s event, the Southwest Virginia Legal Aid Society maintains regular office hours and continues to provide services throughout the year. The organization also partners with private attorneys for pro bono work.