Services Apply Domestic Violence Expungements, Clean Slate and Pardons Housing Hurricane Ida Public Benefits Veterans Chester Co. Mobile Home Taxes FAQs Events Español Community Education
Pro Bono Volunteer (news, info & more) Pro Bono Opportunities (direct signup) Pro Bono Volunteer Trainings Donate Careers Ways to Give Delco Gives - May 8-9, 2025 Battle of the 'Burbs Softball - May 18, 2024 Legal Aid Golf Classic - June 23, 2025 Trial Run 5K - Oct. 26, 2025 Fete for Justice | May 19, 2022 CCPA Encore! - Oct. 20, 2022
Mission & History Timeline: 20+ years Leadership Board News In the News Funders Annual Reports E-newsletters
Free civil legal aid for low-income, vulnerable people in Bucks, Chester, Delaware & Montgomery counties
 
 

Free legal help is available

How to access LASP services:

877-429-5994 Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-1 p.m.

lasp.org/apply

Se habla español. Language Line access & interpretation is available in 240+ languages.

 
 
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Services

 
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Family Law

Child custody, dependency

 
 
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Elder Law

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Consumer

Bankruptcy & more

 
 
 

Am I eligible for services?

Eligibility is determined by your monthly income, your current assets, your family size, the type of legal problem you have, where you live, and certain other factors.

Applicants must meet financial and asset guidelines to be eligible for services in most cases.

 

June 2025 e-news

  • Online: https://conta.cc/3GpCE51

  • Proposed White House budget defunds Legal Services Corporation, LASP's major federal funder (See also: https://www.lasp.org/news)

  • 2025 Legal Aid Golf Classic: ⛳ Thank you + photos (Montgomery Bar Foundation)

  • Power outage or other disaster? Apply for Replacement SNAP benefits within 10 days

  • Chester County Mobile Home Tax Reassessment Project with Chester County United Way: Apply by July 18

  • Volunteer spotlight & pro bono opportunities: Superior Court & more

  • CLE: "Pro Bono PFA Practice in Bucks County” July 17 at Bucks County Bar Association

  • Upcoming outreach | Jobs

LASP continues to serve clients and accept new clients!

  • To apply for help with a civil legal aid problem, call our Helpline: 877-429-5994 Monday-Friday from 9 a.m.-1 p.m.

  • Phones at all local LASP offices are being answered or checked during regular business hours, 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Monday-Friday. (However, local offices are currently closed to the public.)

  • Free legal outreach: virtual, in-person and hybrid: lasp.org/events.

  • Walk-in intake is canceled at all offices. Some offices are scheduling appointments on a limited basis. Call a local office to determine availability. Please see lasp.org/locations.

  • Email or call your attorney if you have questions about your case. When advocates are working remotely, voicemail is being checked.

(June 27, 2025)

“You can’t put a price on justice.” But your support for LASP helps people like Mr. P win disability benefits, stay housed & care for their families. Donate by June 30.

https://bit.ly/LegalAidHelps

(Updated June 2025)

Apply for the Pennsylvania Property Tax/Rent Rebate Program by Dec. 31, 2025!

Read more: News article + links.

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Made a difference and make your Annual Gift today.

Make your Annual Gift by June 30, 2025

The services LASP provides have a serious impact on individuals' lives, actively work to remove barriers to legal justice and education, and make our communities safer and more prosperous places to live.

By giving to LASP, you make it possible for us to continue helping our low-income neighbors and expand our capacity to take on more cases.

Every dollar given expands our ability to assist low-income community members and makes justice more equally accessible in Bucks, Chester, Delaware and Montgomery counties.

Make your Annual Gift today. Thank you!

YOUR support makes LASP’s work possible! Thank you!

Annual Report

Remembrance, Resilience, Responsiveness, Renewal: A pertinent framework

LASP’s 2020-22 Annual Report is now published!

Read it at lasp.org/annual-reports.

Or download, view or print it here (20-page PDF)

Compressed (smaller file size)

LASP outreach events are free. Some are all-virtual, while others are in-person, or hybrid (your choice: virtual or in-person). Check event listing carefully. lasp.org/events

LASP outreach events are free. Some are all-virtual, while others are in-person, or hybrid (your choice: virtual or in-person). Check event listing carefully. lasp.org/events

Free legal workshops, clinics and outreach events: Know your rights!

Check lasp.org/events for free legal information events. In partnership with other local and regional nonprofits and state legislators, LASP attorneys discuss current legal topics, usually in about an hour:

  • Unemployment Compensation

  • Clean Slate, expungements and pardons

  • Foreclosures and evictions

  • Landlord-tenant law

  • Veterans benefits, discharge upgrades and more

  • Chester County Mobile Home Tax Reassessment Project

For organizations wishing to schedule a training with a LASP attorney, contact Erica Briant, Director of Community Engagement & Training, at ebriant@lasp.org.

Join our team!

Visit our careers page to learn about current employment opportunities at Legal Aid of Southeastern PA! Current opportunities include openings for attorneys, paralegals, fiscal team and administrative team.

For most positions, LASP welcomes applicants with a range of experience levels!

lasp.org/careers

In Memoriam & tribute: Harvey F. Strauss

We are deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Harvey Strauss, who dedicated his career to LASP & its predecessor program in Montgomery County. Read LASP’s tribute: lasp.org/news, or lasp.org/news/in-memoriam-harvey-strauss-7-2023

(July 12, 2023)

Legal Aid of Southeastern PA was founded Jan. 1, 2001 when four long-standing legal aid programs in Buck, Chester, Delaware and Montgomery counties joined forces. lasp.org/fete.

19th annual Trial Run 5K Run/Walk!

Thank you to sponsor, runners, walker & supporters for running the extra mile!

With YOUR support, LASP raised $18,695 on Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024!

Event wrap-up and links to 150+ photos: lasp.org/trial-run

LASP’s Veterans Advocacy Project offers trauma-informed help geared to veterans’ needs.

LASP’s Veterans Advocacy Project offers trauma-informed help geared to veterans’ needs.

Veterans Advocacy Helpline

Check out the Veterans page on our website for information on how LASP can help veterans. Links also are provided to other local, state and federal resources helpful to veterans. lasp.org/veterans

Veterans in Bucks, Chester, Delaware or Montgomery counties can call LASP’s Veterans Advocacy Helpline at 610-283-0884.

In addition, LASP’s Regional Helpline at 877-429-5994 is open Monday-Friday from 9 a.m.-1 p.m., or apply online 24/7 at lasp.org/apply.

Join our pro bono program and make a difference in YOUR community!

Pro bono opportunities for attorneys, paralegals, law students

YOU can directly expand access to justice. Volunteer to help Legal Aid of Southeastern PA clients.

Learn more: lasp.org/pro-bono. LASP has volunteer opportunities in Bucks, Chester, Delaware and Montgomery counties, reflecting each county’s needs. Free trainings are available to give you the confidence and information you take a case outside your regular practice area; contact a pro bono coordinator for more information.

New! Sign up for a SPECIFIC volunteer activity at lasp.org/pro-bono-opportunities to see SPECIFIC opportunities and sign up.

THANK YOU, pro bono volunteers, for your dedicated service in all four counties, throughout the year!

Monthly e-news

LASP’s informative e-newsletter is published 11-12 times per year.

Check out our current issue!

In each monthly e-news, you'll find:

  • What's new at LASP & the 4 counties

  • New developments & updates on programs to help residents with low incomes

  • Current pro bono opportunities & volunteer features

  • Photos from recent outreaches & events

  • Upcoming free legal clinics

  • Job announcements

  • & more!

To subscribe, please fill out the form at lasp.org/enews.

Current issue and archive: lasp.org/enews

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Swallowtail butterfly on butterfly bush

Check out resource pages in some of our practice areas

Domestic Violence

LASP helps with Protection from Abuse orders and domestic violence in Pennsylvania. Learn how to apply for help in Bucks, Chester, Delaware and Montgomery counties and find additional resources at lasp.org/domestic-violence.

Clean Slate 3.0 went into effect Feb. 12, 2024.

Details + flyer: lasp.org/news/updated-clean-slate-law-expands-eligibility-for-record-sealing

Record-clearing paves the way for improved job opportunities and increased access to education and housing.

Legal Aid of Southeastern PA is helping people clear their records in Bucks, Chester, Delaware and Montgomery counties. Our Community Engagement Unit may be able to help you with:

  • Expungements

  • Clean Slate (limited access to records)

  • Pardons

LASP’s webpage, https://www.lasp.org/expungements gives information and resources to help you start the process in clearing your record through Pennsylvania’s expungement, Clean Slate or pardon process.

Clean Slate 3.0 information and flyer (updated June 3, 2025) is on our News page!

Housing

LASP is helping people in Bucks, Chester, Delaware and Montgomery counties who face the threat of eviction, mortgage foreclosure, and/or other housing problems.

Renters and homeowners in Bucks, Chester, Delaware and Montgomery counties can contact the LASP Helpline at 877-429-5994 Monday-Friday, from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. The sooner you contact LASP, the more prepared your case will be for the hearing date.

Important news

Landlord-tenant

  • Eviction

  • Habitability (needs repairs in order to be safe to live in)

  • Public or subsidized housing

  • Rent-to-own

Homeownership

  • Mortgage foreclosure

  • Section 8 housing

  • Reverse mortgages

  • Tangled title

Benefits

Unemployment Compensation: Responding to the Crozer closure

  • LASP News article + resources (updated June 27, 2025) that may be helpful to former employees of Crozer Health and others facing other job loss.

  • May 1 & June 5 webinar recordings & slides.

  • What to do if your unemployment compensation claim is denied.

  • Information on the Crozer Transition Center.

  • & more.

Pennsylvania's Property Tax/Rent Rebate Program may help low-income households | Apply by 12/31/2025

  • LASP News article + resources (updated May 2025)

  • Get up to $1,000 back on property taxes or rent paid in 2024.

  • Check if you qualify for the Pennsylvania Property Tax/Rent Rebate program and apply by Dec. 31, 2025!

LIHEAP helps with home heating bills: Apply Nov. 4, 2024 - April 4, 2025

Apply for LIHEAP in 2024-25. Get information, LASP’s 4-county flyer + links. | LASP News article + flyers (November 2024)

Changes to Medicaid, Medical Assistance and CHIP: You MUST renew every year! Update info with PA DHS!

(LASP News article + flyers in English and Spanish) (March 25, 2023)

SNAP (food stamp) benefits are changing: You will get only 1 payment per month starting in March 2023

(LASP News article + flyer with information and resources) (Jan. 19, 2023)

Legal Aid of Southeastern PA helps clients gain access to public benefits that may have been denied. ‘

  • Low Income Heating and Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP)

  • Medical Assistance (Medicaid) or Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP)

  • Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI)

  • Supplemental Security Income (SSI, or Social Security)

  • Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, or food stamps)

  • Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF, or cash assistance)

  • Unemployment Compensation (UC)

  • and more

Veterans

LASP can help veterans with:

  • VA benefits (including: initial applications and appeals, survivor’s benefits, and overpayments)

  • Military discharge upgrades

  • All of our other civil legal aid service areas

Visit lasp.org/veterans for more details and for potentially helpful local, state and federal resources.

LASP in the news

Pennsylvania News: Pennsylvania launches online pardon application

Former Crozer Health system employees struggle to access unemployment benefits

LSC Grantees Defend the Rights of Renters and Homeowners | Grantees in the News

End of Emergency Housing Voucher Program Will Increase Homelessness in Pennsylvania: Funding is running out for a federal rental assistance program, putting families across the commonwealth at risk of eviction.

  • by Pat LaMarche | Bucks County Beacon | May 23, 2025 | https://bit.ly/Beacon-5-23-2025

  • Kimberly Hollenback, VOCA Supervising Attorney, was interviewed for this story.

Chester County United Way Offers Tax Relief for Mobile Home Owners

Delco Gives 2025: How to get involved

  • by Jenna Meissner | PHL17 | May 8, 2025 | bit.ly/PHL17-5-8-2025

    Richard A.J. Prebil, Veterans Advocacy Project Supervising Attorney, discusses LASP's work with low-income individuals in Delaware, Bucks, Chester and Montgomery counties and the impact of Delco Gives.

Delco Gives kicks off second annual charitable-giving marathon with community tailgates: The online portal to donate to participating nonprofits is open. The Foundation for Delaware County wants community members to blitz local nonprofits with generosity.

  • by Kenny Cooper | WHYY News | May 8, 2025 | https://bit.ly/WHYY-5-8-2025

    Richard A.J. Prebil speaks about the impact of LASP's work for veterans. “​​We’ve really had a unique opportunity to help individuals get increases in income, access housing, access income to stabilized housing and be able to move on to whatever the next part of their path is,” Prebil said.

What storage accommodations will unhoused ‘Tent City’ residents have amid upcoming sweep in Pottstown? Legal Aid of Southeastern Pennsylvania says unhoused people must have an opportunity to store and access personal property during sweeps.

As Climate Change Fuels Disasters, Legal Aid Needs Grow

Judge to rule on planned sweep of Pottstown homeless encampment: Community Justice Project, Legal Aid of Southeastern PA take on borough in Philadelphia courtroom

‘Please don’t do this’: Area residents, advocates urge Pottstown council to scrap sweep of homeless people; Public opposition of decision to have homeless vacate borough-owned land continues

  • by Rachel Ravina & Evan Brandt | Pottstown Mercury, Lansdale Reporter & Norristown Times Herald | Nov. 19, 2023 & in print Nov. 20 | https://bit.ly/Mercury-11-19-2023

Pottstown faces federal lawsuit over plans to vacate homeless encampment along Schuylkill River Trail: Pottstown has erected signs along College Drive, declaring the parcel a flood hazard and “private property of the borough.” The sign demands people vacate after Dec. 1.

Lawsuit asserts Pottstown ‘violates its citizens constitutional rights’ in homeless sweep: Community Justice Project, Legal Aid of Southeastern PA file lawsuit in federal court

Federal lawsuit filed to stop eviction of unhoused encampment in Pottstown

Advocates pursuing legal action on behalf of homeless living along Schuylkill River Trail in Pottstown: Legal experts assert ‘Pottstown has not offered adequate alternative shelter here'

Pottstown posts notices that homeless must leave land along Schuylkill River Trail:
A Dec. 1 deadline has been issued to vacate borough property.

Untold Valor Podcast (22 minutes)

  • Produced by Voice and Vision, Inc. | July 27, 2023 | https://bit.ly/Untold-Valor-podcast-7-2023

  • Richard A.J. Prebil, LASP Veterans Advocacy Project Supervising Attorney, shares insights into LASP's work with veterans

Obituary for Harvey F. Strauss

There’s No Place Like A Fairly Taxed Home—Even If It’s A Trailer: How a retired PA couple changed the lives of hundreds of struggling residents of affluent Chester County by challenging inflated real estate tax assessments on their mobile homes

by Kelly Phillips Erb | Forbes | Daily Cover | June 17, 2023 | https://bit.ly/Forbes-6-17-2023

Fearing a ‘sweep,’ people living homeless in Norristown wait to be cast out of encampments

by Alfred Lubrano | Philadelphia Inquirer | Sunday, May 28, 2023 | Page 1 | https://bit.ly/Inquirer-5-28-2023

Norristown, PECO planning to sweep homeless encampment

by Kenny Cooper and Emily Rizzo | WHYY | May 25, 2023 | https://bit.ly/WHYY-5-25-2023

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"Pa Supreme Court greenlights Bucks County eviction stay program"

by Jo Ciavaglia | Bucks County Courier Times | Aug. 2, 2021 | bit.ly/3xshxos

Excerpt: Bucks County can continue an administrative order granting temporary stay on some evictions for nonpayment of rent.

"PA Supreme Court Greenlights County Court Order To Reduce Evictions"

by Tom Sofield | LevittownNow.com | Aug. 2, 2021 | bit.ly/3xny1y1

Mobile homes are overtaxed, and Chester County program brings relief

Philadelphia Inquirer story by Michaelle Bond: bit.ly/2STzkUF | Jan. 4, 2020