Organizations Filed Purposes:
OHIO LEGAL HELP LEVERAGES TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION TO IMPROVE JUSTICE AND FAIRNESS FOR ALL OHIOANS. OUR WORK REMOVES BARRIERS TO THE LAW SO THAT ALL OHIOANS CAN UNDERSTAND THEIR LEGAL OPTIONS, MAKE INFORMED DECISIONS AND CONNECT TO LEGAL AND COMMUNITY RESOURCES.
86 PERCENT OF CIVIL LEGAL PROBLEMS REPORTED BY LOW-INCOME AMERICANS RECEIVE INADEQUATE OR NO LEGAL HELP. PEOPLE WHO NEED LEGAL HELP THE MOST ARE OFTEN THE ONES WHO DON'T HAVE ACCESS TO IT. IT'S AN IMPORTANT ISSUE CALLED THE JUSTICE GAP, AND IT REFERS TO THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE CIVIL LEGAL NEEDS OF LOW-INCOME AND VULNERABLE AMERICANS AND THE RESOURCES AVAILABLE TO MEET THOSE NEEDS. OHIO LEGAL HELP WAS CREATED TO BRIDGE AND CLOSE THIS JUSTICE GAP IN OHIO. AS A STATEWIDE, SECURE MOBILE-FIRST HUB OF LEGAL INFORMATION, FORMS AND RESOURCES, OHIO LEGAL HELP BRIDGES THE JUSTICE GAP FOR UNDERSERVED, VULNERABLE AND LOW-INCOME OHIOANS BY CONNECTING THEM TO CRITICAL LEGAL ASSISTANCE SO THEY CAN CONTINUE TO MOVE FORWARD IN THEIR LIVES.(PROGRAM DESCRIPTION CONTINUED IN SCHEDULE O)OHIO LEGAL HELP STARTED WITH THE IDEA OF EQUITABLE JUSTICE FOR ALL. IN 2015, THE OHIO SUPREME COURT'S TASK FORCE ON ACCESS TO JUSTICE RECOMMENDED THAT THE ACCESS TO JUSTICE COMMUNITY "DEVELOP AND MAINTAIN A STATEWIDE WEBSITE DEVOTED TO PROVIDING FREE AND ACCURATE LEGAL INFORMATION TO OHIO RESIDENTS."IN RESPONSE TO THIS CHARGE, A GROUP OF COMMUNITY AND LEGAL ORGANIZATIONS MET IN 2017 TO PLAN THE CREATION OF A STATEWIDE, USER-CENTERED LEGAL PORTAL THAT WOULD BECOME OHIO LEGAL HELP.ORG. AFTER TWO YEARS OF RESEARCH AND DESIGN, OHIO LEGAL HELP LAUNCHED TO THE PUBLIC IN 2019. IN THE FIRST FULL YEAR OF OPERATIONS, THE WEBSITE ASSISTED MORE THAN 330,000 VISITORS TO THE SITE WITH LEGAL ISSUES RANGING FROM DIVORCE TO EVICTION. BY PROVIDING ACTIONABLE AND ACCURATE INFORMATION, OHIO LEGAL HELP TRANSFORMS THE LIVES OF LOW-INCOME, UNDERSERVED AND VULNERABLE POPULATIONS AND FULFILLS THE MISSION OF ACCESS TO JUSTICE FOR ALL.WHEN OHIO LEGAL HELP LAUNCHED IN SEPTEMBER 2019, NO ONE COULD HAVE PREDICTED THE UNPRECEDENTED NEED FOR LEGAL HELP THAT WOULD FOLLOW AS THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC HIT. OHIO LEGAL HELP IMMEDIATELY TOOK ACTION AND CREATED A COVID-19 HUB THAT IS REGULARLY UPDATED WITH THE LATEST PROTECTIONS AND BENEFITS AVAILABLE TO OHIOANS.IN ADDITION TO THE COVID-19 HUB, OHIO LEGAL HELP PROVIDES THE CENTER FOR DISEASE CONTROL'S EVICTION MORATORIUM DECLARATION FORM TO HELP PEOPLE FACING EVICTION COMPLETE THE FORM ONLINE AND ON A SMARTPHONE. SINCE THE CDC ANNOUNCED THIS MORATORIUM IN SEPTEMBER, NEARLY 20,000 PEOPLE FACING EVICTION HAVE ACCESSED OHIO LEGAL HELP'S MORATORIUM FORM.IN TOTAL, FROM MARCH 15, 2020, THROUGH THE END OF THE YEAR, OHIO LEGAL HELP ASSISTED MORE THAN 310,000 USERS WHO FACED SERIOUS ISSUES SUCH AS EVICTION, FOOD INSTABILITY AND UNEMPLOYMENT. OHIO LEGAL HELP'S COVID-19 METRICS ARE AS FOLLOWS: TOTAL USERS ASSISTED: 310,000USERS WITH UNEMPLOYMENT ISSUES: 89,000USERS WITH COVID-19 ISSUES: 44,000 USERS WITH EVICTION AND FORECLOSURE ISSUES: 50,000 - INCLUDING 17,000 USERS WITH THE CDC EVICTION MORATORIUM FORMUSERS WITH FOOD + SNAP NEEDS: 7,400REFERRALS TO OHIO'S 600+ COURTS, LEGAL AIDS, AND LOCAL SOCIAL SERVICE AGENCIES: - TOTAL REFERRALS: 80,800 - COURTS: 44,000 - SOCIAL SERVICE AGENCIES: 19,000 - LEGAL AID (INCLUDING PRO SENIORS): 9,000 - PUBLIC DEFENDER/COURT APPOINTED: 4,800 - PRIVATE BAR ASSOCIATION (LRS): 4,000THIS SHOWS THE VITAL ROLE OF TRUSTED, 24/7 ONLINE LEGAL ASSISTANCE DURING THE CURRENT COVID-19 CRISIS AND BEYOND.AS A PART OF THE ORGANIZATION'S MISSION AND STRATEGIC PLAN, THE OHIO LEGAL HELP TEAM IS ALWAYS WORKING TO IMPROVE AND EXPAND THE SERVICES OF THE WEBSITE. IN ALL PROJECTS, OHIO LEGAL HELP USES A DATA-DRIVEN AND EVIDENCE-BASED APPROACH THAT EMPHASIZES ACCESSIBLE, MOBILE-FIRST DESIGN. THROUGH FUNDING FROM THE LEGAL SERVICES CORPORATION AND PARTNERSHIP WITH COMMUNITY LEGAL AID, OHIO LEGAL HELP CREATED AND LAUNCHED MY OLH, A SECURE USER HUB WHERE USERS CAN FIND, SAVE AND COMPLETE COURT FORMS. IN THE YEAR AHEAD, OHIO LEGAL HELP WILL PARTNER WITH THE MONTGOMERY COUNTY DOMESTIC RELATIONS COURT TO CREATE AND PILOT A VIRTUAL SELF-HELP CENTER. THE SELF-HELP CENTER WILL ENABLE SELF-REPRESENTED LITIGANTS TO FIND INFORMATION ABOUT THE DOMESTIC RELATIONS COURT, FILL OUT AND SAVE COURT FORMS, FILE FORMS ELECTRONICALLY, GET SUPPORT VIA A CHAT FUNCTION AND CONNECT WITH A LAWYER. LANGUAGE SHOULD NEVER BE A BARRIER TO EQUITABLE ACCESS TO JUSTICE. TO HELP MEET THIS NEED, OHIO LEGAL HELP WILL EXPAND TO A WIDER COMMUNITY THROUGH SPANISH TRANSLATION OF THE WEBSITE IN 2021. INNOVATION SHOULD NOT BE JUST FOR INNOVATION'S SAKE. RECOGNIZING THIS, OHIO LEGAL HELP ACTIVELY SEEKS FEEDBACK FROM PEOPLE WHO NEED AND USE OUR SITE. NEARLY 10,000 USERS SHARED THEIR NEEDS WITH US THROUGH USER SURVEYS IN 2020. IN 2021 AND BEYOND, OHIO LEGAL HELP WILL CONTINUE TO BRIDGE THE JUSTICE GAP FOR UNDERSERVED, VULNERABLE AND LOW-INCOME OHIOANS BY CONNECTING THEM TO CRITICAL LEGAL ASSISTANCE SO THEY CAN CONTINUE TO MOVE FORWARD IN THEIR LIVES.
Executives Listed on Filing
Total Salary includes financial earnings, benefits, and all related organization earnings listed on tax filing
| Name | Title | Hours Per Week | Total Salary |
|---|
| Susan Choe | EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR | 40 | $135,162 |
| Ukeme Awakessien Jeter | DIRECTOR | 0.5 | $0 |
| Mark Nylander | DIRECTOR | 0.5 | $0 |
| Judge Linda Teodosio | DIRECTOR | 0.5 | $0 |
| Jose Bautista | DIRECTOR | 0.5 | $0 |
| John Holt | DIRECTOR | 0.5 | $0 |
| John Pinney | TREASURER/SECRETARY | 2 | $0 |
| Sally Bloomfield | VICE PRESIDENT | 2 | $0 |
| David Kutik | PRESIDENT | 2 | $0 |
Data for this page was sourced from XML published by IRS (
public 990 form dataset) from:
https://s3.amazonaws.com/irs-form-990/202131359349300038_public.xml