Northam announces $4 million in funding for Legal Services Corporation of Va.

RICHMOND, Va. (WHSV) — Governor Ralph Northam announced $4 million in funding for the Legal Services Corporation of Virginia on Monday.

According to a press release from the Governor’s Office, this money will support 20 Legal Aid attorneys in providing services to Virginia tenants facing eviction for the next two years. The funding is supported in part by a $2 million donation from IKEA U.S. Community Foundation, which Northam matched with $2 million from Virginia’s COVID-19 Relief Fund.

“Our Commonwealth faced an eviction crisis before COVID-19 arrived in early March, and the ongoing global pandemic is making this problem even worse,” said Governor Northam. “In an unprecedented crisis and financial uncertainty, we must be able to get relief to vulnerable populations quickly and efficiently — this additional funding will make that possible.”

Gov. Northam also established the Virginia Rent and Mortgage Relief Program with an initial $50 million in federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act funds and proposed an additional $88 million in funding for the Housing Trust Fund to prevent evictions and expand affordable housing, the press release says. Since launching at the end of June, the RMRP has serviced more than 3,100 households in Virginia.

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