(MLSC) — January is Poverty Awareness Month. We recognize poverty as a basic insufficiency in necessities like food, shelter, additional protection from the elements (clothing, utilities), and health access. In the U.S., we have safety nets like NAP (SNAP) food stamp benefits, Section 8 housing assistance, LIHEAP for utilities, and Medicaid to help reduce the impacts of poverty in these critical areas.
The overlooked poverty need: We also recognize as a basic human need “liberty and justice for all.” We have some safety nets here, too. In criminal cases, we have appointed lawyers at government expense. In civil justice matters, we have Legal Services Corporation grantees. Here in the CNMI and neighboring islands, this safety net grantee is Micronesian Legal Services Corporation.
Lawyers are needed in order to obtain justice. Our justice system is complex: we have Constitutional law, statutory law, agency regulations, executive orders, and court decisions. We have a federal system with federal laws in all these areas, and state or commonwealth laws in all these areas. We have three branches of government at both federal and state levels contributing to the myriad tapestry of laws governing nearly every aspect of life. Without lawyers, ordinary people have difficulty even knowing their rights and obligations, much less advocating their positions and getting justice.
The impending threat: The safety nets in place are being undone. And civil justice is the most vulnerable because it is the least visible. It is the need and right that no one mentions when they think of poverty awareness. And quite frankly, lawyers aren’t necessarily popular. The LSC budget in the U.S. Congress remains undecided. There is no CNMI appropriation this year for MLSC help. A small attempt to help through creating a tax credit bill is stalled in the CNMI Legislature. And the Bank of America settlement funds we received a few years ago through the CNMI Bar Association’s help are now depleted. We are running in the red in the Marianas Office of MLSC.
MLSC is the only agency in the CNMI providing free legal assistance in a wide variety of cases. We are fortunate to have NMPASI helping the disabled and recently hospitalized. But for consumer cases, housing cases, family cases, benefits issues, probates, and other ordinary legal issues, MLSC is the only agency helping the poor in the CNMI. Right now, MLSC is facing the gravest cutback in its history.
The immediate consequences: In the Marianas, we are likely to lay off regular staff, even though we have a grant to expand services for victims and survivors of domestic violence. We will not be able to handle the wide array of civil cases as we have done for the past fifty plus years. In being aware of poverty, the community needs to be made aware that justice of all will be impaired more because MLSC will be losing staff and reducing services due to budget cuts and lack of local funding support.
What you can do to help: During Poverty Awareness Month, speak up for those who need justice. There is no such thing as justice for some. We need justice for all.
Call your CNMI legislator and let them know what you think about all this, and what you think about the tax credit legislation that is still pending.
Find their phone numbers here: https://cnmileg.net/resources/files/Directory/24TH%20Directory%20(08_26_2025)FINAL.pdf
Contact our delegate to the U.S. Congress at (670) 323-2647. Let her know that the amount of funding for LSC critically affects services in the CNMI.
Call the White House at 202-456-1111 or Congress in general 202-224-3121 and be heard.
Most significantly, donate! Small donations, large donations, anything in between. MLSC is a 501 (c)(3) non-profit and would be grateful for your contributions. You can call us at 670-322-6472, e-mail, or visit our offices. Find out more about MLSC at our webpage https://micronesianlegal.org/ and use the donate button there!
