Information for Community Partners

This page includes detailed information about our services and how community partners can refer WNC residents to us for assistance.

If you have questions, please call our main number 828-253-0406 or contact Katie Russell Miller at [email protected] or 828-210-3420.

All services are free.

Quick Links
PLS Intake FAQ – English
PLS Intake FAQ – Spanish
PLS Rack Card
Referring Individuals for Assistance
PLS Client Phone Tips
PLS Materials

FREE CIVIL LEGAL SERVICES 

Eligibility Considerations for Legal Services 

  • County: Legal services are provided in Avery, Buncombe, Henderson, Jackson, Macon, Madison, Mitchell, Polk, Transylvania, Rutherford, and Yancey, with limited legal services in Haywood County. Because of a patchwork of funding, some legal services are only available in certain counties.
  • Income: We assist people with low household income. Our various legal programs have differing income guidelines, from 125% to 200% of the federal poverty level. Please don’t try to determine income eligibility for our services for your client/constituent; have a potential client call us for help with this.
  • Legal Issue: We assist with civil legal issues. We do not assist with criminal defense, traffic issues, or DUIs.
  • Legal Conflict of Interest: Due to legal ethical rules, we cannot assist someone who is or has been the opposing party in another of our legal cases. For instance, if someone is the opposing party (alleged abuser) in a domestic violence case, we cannot assist that individual if they apply for assistance with a housing or debt issue.

BENEFITS & HEALTH CARE LAW

  • Medicaid – We help individuals who have been denied Medicaid, are facing termination from Medicaid, or have been denied needed treatment or health care from Medicaid. We also help individuals avoid Medicaid estate recovery, and with vindicating other Medicaid rights.
  • Disability Benefits – We help stop termination and obtain reinstatement of disability benefits (SSI/SSDI), including challenging alleged overpayments of benefits. We also have limited capacity to help individuals who are homeless or at risk of homelessness with applying for disability benefits.
  • Food Stamps – We assist individuals who have been denied food stamps or are facing termination of or a reduction in their food stamps benefits.

CONSUMER PROTECTION & DEBT  

  • Assisting Consumers – We provide legal assistance on debt-related issues (including the consideration of bankruptcy), fraud, unfair debt collection, predatory lending, and harassment by creditors. We advise consumer who have issues with solar panel companies.

DISASTER RECOVERY

  • FEMA Issues & Appeals – We help WNC disaster survivors appeal denials of FEMA claims (including well past the appeal deadline) and get FEMA applications “unstuck” if an individual has not received a decision about their FEMA application. In some situations, we can assist with new FEMA applications.
  • Homeowners Insurance – We help with homeowner insurance disputes related to damage caused by Helene.
  • Mortgage Issues & Foreclosure Prevention – We help disaster survivors navigate mortgage issues related to recovery and prevent foreclosure, including foreclosure surplus matters.
  • Consumer Issues Including Contractor Fraud/Scams and Bills/Debt
  • Private Roads & Bridges – We can assist with some issues related to repair and rebuilding of private roads and bridges.
  • Disaster-Related Issues for Tenants

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, CHILD ABUSE & SEXUAL ASSAULT 

  • Help for Survivors of Abuse/Assault – We do safety planning, advice and representation for clients to secure domestic violence protection orders, and assist with custody, divorce and equitable distribution for survivors. Unfortunately, Pisgah Legal Services does not have funding to assist everyone. And we are only able to assist with custody in situations where there is domestic violence, sexual assault, child abuse.

ELDER LAW 

  • Powers of Attorneys/Health Care Powers of Attorney/Wills – We assist with end-of-life planning, including drafting Financial and Health Care Powers of Attorney. We assist individuals facing terminal illness to draft wills but do not have capacity for other will cases.
  • Elder Abuse & Financial Exploitation: We also assist older adults with elder abuse, including financial exploitation.
  • Adult Guardianship – We have volunteer attorneys in Buncombe County who represent clients to secure guardianship of a loved one who is no longer competent to handle their affairs.

HOUSING 

  • Help for Tenants – We assist with eviction prevention, substandard housing conditions, obtaining or preserving a housing subsidy, advice on security deposits, harassment by a landlord, and other issues that come up for tenants.
  • Foreclosure Defense – We assist homeowners with home foreclosure prevention, including mortgage and tax foreclosure and foreclosure surplus issues.
  • Help for Homeowners – We assist with deed/title issues, estate planning to preserve homeownership and wealth across generations, heir property issues (addressing issues that arise when a homeowner dies without a will). 

IMMIGRATION LAW (Services provided in 18 WNC Counties) 

  • Immigration Law – We assist immigrants who have a path toward legal immigration status to navigate the bureaucracy and red tape to pursue this path. We consult with undocumented immigrants to help determine if they have a path to legal status. We assist immigrant crime victims to pursue special visas (U-Visas) that may be an option if they cooperate with law enforcement on prosecution related to the crime.
  • Powers of Attorney & Family Preparedness – We help immigrant parents with minor children draft Powers of Attorney. These documents give legal authority to a trusted family member or friend to care for our client’s children and handle their financial affairs if the parent is detained or otherwise unavailable.

NONPROFITS & COMMUNITY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

  • Help for Nonprofit Organizations – We assist nonprofits who are serving low-income people and cannot afford to hire an attorney with nonprofit incorporation, filing for 501c3 status, bylaw creation and review, MOUs, and employment law issues, such as required personnel policies and volunteer waivers.
  • Jobs & Housing – Our staff and volunteer attorneys work with nonprofits on projects and advocacy to increase jobs and affordable housing in Western North Carolina.

TAX LAW 

  • Tax Law/Low-Income Taxpayer Clinic – We assist low-income taxpayers in federal and state tax controversies/disputes (taxpayer owes taxes) and educate taxpayers about rights and responsibilities.

VETERANS ASSISTANCE 

  • Veterans Law – We assist veterans to secure Veterans Administration Benefits, protect them from disability discrimination, and other legal issues (housing, domestic violence, end-of-life planning, etc.)

HEALTH & ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY PROGRAM

  • Free Tax Preparation – We provide free tax filing assistance. We help families with children secure child tax credit payments and Earned Income Tax Credits. Many low-income families are not required to file a tax return and without filing they miss out on these payments/credits, which can be thousands of dollars.
  • Free Health Insurance Navigation & Enrollment – Our certified, unbiased health insurance counselors provide free help to consumers to navigate and enroll in ACA plans and Medicaid.

OTHER PROGRAMS

  • NC Medicaid Ombudsman Program – Medicaid Ombudsman informing and advocate for Medicaid Managed Care recipients. This free service can help Medicaid Managed Care recipients solve problems with coverage and care and understand their rights. They can refer Medicaid recipients to a free attorney if their rights are being denied.

REFERRING INDIVIDUALS FOR ASSISTANCE

  • Legal Assistance: Application by phone at 828-253-0406 or apply online at https://www.pisgahlegal.org/free-legal-assistance/.  If individuals have difficulty getting through to apply, please call this number and press “0” to speak with one of our receptionists or submit this contact form and someone will reply promptly.  We receive hundreds of calls per week for assistance and sometimes our systems get backed up but we don’t want anyone to get lost in our system!
  • Health Insurance Navigation/Enrollment Assistance – Call 828-210-3404 or schedule an appointment with a Health Insurance Counselor online at https://www.pisgahlegal.org/free-legal-assistance/healthcare/.
  • Tax Return Preparation – Call 828-210-3404, ext. 2 (ext. 4 for Spanish speakers) or apply online at https://www.pisgahlegal.org/taxes/.
  • NC Medicaid Ombudsman – Call 877-201-3750 for assistance.

Can’t find the answer you’re looking for? Contact Katie Russell Miller, Managing Director of Community Engagement at [email protected] or 828-210-3420 or Jen Collier Wilson, Director of Volunteer & Community Engagement at [email protected] or 828-435-2031.