Free authorized help NC | Wake County Authorized Help Heart offers free providers, info: ‘It is about fairness’

Attorney costs have largely kept Linwood Holiday from managing his legal battle. He is a single co-parenting dad.

“I have a lot of questions, paperwork and a lot of self-studying,” said Holiday. “An hour over a hundred or two hundred dollars and that’s just for a consultation. Still not saying you’ll have that attorney.”

According to the North Carolina Equal Access to Justice Commission and the Equal Justice Alliance, a statewide assessment found that around 70 percent of low-income families encountered at least one legal issue a year with 91 percent of those families listing cost as a top barrier.

On Friday, county leaders opened the doors to the Wake County Legal Support Center. They say the facility is about equity. In the first week, it’s served more than 50 people.

“We want to make sure anyone who comes into this center landlord, tenant, custodial, noncustodial parents are able to come in here and receive free access and information provided to them. We are not checking incomes,” said Judge Ashleigh Dunston, who is the lead child support judge in Wake County. “Seeing what I’ve seen on the bench those type of things. I knew there was a need to ensure justice needs to happen. Charlotte had it for 20 years. We needed this yesterday.”

Holiday would agree that this is not only a resource for him, but others like him.

“Very beneficial if some of the single fathers and single mothers get out and support what they’re having and offering,” said Holiday.

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