Public benefits protect against extreme poverty.  Unfortunately, people who need them most do not always receive them.  Benefit applications are now done online which is difficult to do if you do not have a computer or don’t know how to use a computer.  Most public benefits programs no longer have offices where you can file an application, answer a question, correct an error, or appeal an adverse agency action. In addition to complicated agency procedures, public benefit program rules are hard to understand and change often.     

It is very difficult for many people to resolve the loss or reduction of public benefits on their own.  Legal Services is an expert in this area of the law, and legal advocacy by skilled advocates is a proven strategy to fix these problems.  Over the years, Legal Services has established a 90% or higher success rate helping its clients maintain or increase their public benefits such as SNAP (food stamps), Temporary Assistance to Need Families, Social Security Disability and Supplemental Security Income, VA benefits, and Re-employment Assistance benefits.