In response to growing demand, Worcester-based Community Legal Aid has moved its Fitchburg office to a new location and will soon add an additional attorney specializing in immigration.
In response to growing demand, Worcester-based Community Legal Aid has moved its Fitchburg office to a new location and will soon add an additional attorney specializing in immigration.
Community Legal Aid moved to the third floor of 625 Main St. in Fitchburg in late August, just down the street from its original location at 515 Main St., Tom Navin, the nonprofit’s director of development, told WBJ.
Community Legal Aid offers civil legal aid to low-income and elderly individuals within Central and Western Massachusetts through six main offices and two satellite offices, including those in Pittsfield, Springfield, and Greenfield.
The nonprofit originally opened its Fitchburg office right before the COVID-19 pandemic. Since then, becoming integrated in the Fitchburg community has grown awareness of the organization's services, and thus, has attracted more clients, said Navin.
“There's people who need our services that didn't know how to reach us and didn't know or couldn't get to Worcester,” said Navin. “And then, of course, everything that's going on in the world also adds increased demand.”
Community Legal Aid’s Fitchburg location provides services in education, elder law, employment, family, immigration, and housing law.
Since the pandemic, the organization saw an increase in need of almost all of its services.
During COVID, clients who were laid off needed assistance obtaining employment benefits. The need for housing and family services grew, as Community Legal Aid’s family practice focuses on survivors of domestic violence along with divorce and custody issues and restraining orders.
Demand for immigration services has surged.
“I don't think I need to explain why that's been a huge, huge area of growth as well,” said Navin.
Having started with about five employees, Community Legal Aid’s Fitchburg office now houses 12 full-time staff: Ines Kenney serves as its managing attorney with 10 attorneys and one paralegal.
The location will bring on a second immigration attorney, said Navin.
In fiscal 2024, Community Legal Aid generated $22.41 million in revenue and had $28.43 million in assets, according to nonprofit financial tracker GuideStar.
Mica Kanner-Mascolo is a staff writer at Worcester Business Journal, who primarily covers the healthcare and diversity, equity, and inclusion industries.
