More people than ever need legal aid services. But the pandemic has hit legal aid funding hard.
“When Hawaii’s Covid-19 shutdown order took effect last year, Cynthia Merrick’s Oahu-based fitness business all but dried up. Tomoko Otani lost her job at a Honolulu-area restaurant. Facing sudden financial challenges, from applying for unemployment benefits in a second language to possible eviction, they turned to the Hawaii Legal Aid Society.”