Legal Aid Justice Center calls on lawmakers to protect low-income workers in wake of COVID-19

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (WVIR) - The Legal Aid Justice Center (LAJC) in Charlottesville is calling on state and local lawmakers to do more to help those struggling financially through the COVID-19 pandemic.

Attorneys with the center said they jumped into action as soon as the state of emergency was announced in Virginia. Since then, the center has launched an advocacy webpage with information and resources for community members who need help.

The webpage also details a list of community calls to action to protect low-income Virginians and addresses issues in healthcare, housing and incarceration. The group stands by the idea this is not only a health, but also a human-made crisis due to what they say are gaps in the economic system.

“None of the things we've listed are happening only because of the coronavirus,” LAJC Legal Director of the Economic Justice Program Brenda Castaneda said. “They're just things that are exacerbated by the sort of inability to earn money or maybe find some other place to live.”

Some of the groups requests pertaining to taxes and paying off debts have already been answered by state and local lawmakers, but advocates said there’s more work to do.