Vermont Legal Aid asks Legislature to preserve immigration help, helpline and tenant representation funding

Jesse Weiss, executive director at Vermont Legal Aid, told the Senate Judiciary committee that demand for civil legal assistance in Vermont has risen sharply and that state funding must increase to avoid service losses.

Weiss said the organization fields roughly 26,000 requests annually, assisted about 18,000 people last year and provides full representation in roughly 2,600–3,000 cases per year. He told the committee demand has “more than doubled, up 104% since 2022,” and that flat or reduced funding has forced staff cuts and service reductions across housing, benefits and elder-law services.

Weiss requested the committee maintain the House’s support for two immigration attorneys (about $200,000) and for the statewide legal helpline (House included $100,000). He also urged the Legislature to appropriate $510,000 to sustain and expand a tenant-representation pilot (currently serving Windsor and Lamoille counties) and $235,620 to adjust core legal-services funding for inflation.

He reported positive results from the tenant pilot: between August 2025 and March 2026, more than half of tenants who received assistance remained housed and the program prevented homelessness for about 40 households; Weiss estimated those avoided homelessness cases saved the state roughly $2.1 million in public costs.

Weiss also noted that for every dollar spent on core legal services, AHS (Agency of Human Services) receives a roughly 50-cent federal match, meaning state investment leverages federal funds.

Why it matters: Civil legal services address housing stability, access to benefits and other needs that intersect with public health and public-safety systems. Legal Aid said preserving and expanding funding will reduce shelter and emergency costs and keep families housed.