An important focus of VPLC’s housing work is on education, litigation and policy advocacy to reduce historical patterns of residential segregation and promote diverse, inclusive communities.   This activity is heavily data-driven and centers on fair housing laws and the rights of disadvantaged populations.  But how does combatting segregation and discrimination in housing markets reduce poverty?  […]

VPLC is joining with a bipartisan group of legislators asking Governor McAuliffe to overturn 2015 legislation that is harming Virginia’s electricity consumers. The Virginia General Assembly passed legislation in 2015 (SB 1349) that fixed the base rates charged by public utilities, Appalachian Power and Dominion, to its Virginia customers and prohibits the State Corporation Commission […]

 ENERGY EFFICIENCY: WHAT IS IT AND WHY DOES IT MATTER? By Ben Greenberg, Affordable Clean Energy Project The Virginia Poverty Law Center (VPLC) initiated its Affordable Clean Energy Project in 2016. The purpose of the project is to give a voice to low-income Virginians on the impacts of energy costs and the need for energy […]

This past week was crossover at the Virginia General Assembly meaning that the House of Delegates will now consider Senate bills and the Senate will consider House bills.  VPLC advocates reviewed 2,600 bills introduced in the first two weeks of the session and decided to follow 255 of those bills as they made their way […]

 HB1692 (Collins) would make family law litigation more difficult for those without an attorney   Simply put, there are not enough legal aid or pro bono attorneys to meet the need in family law cases in Virginia.   HB1692 relates to family law cases in which some matters may be decided by the Juvenile & […]

Facts. Car title lenders are deathly afraid of anyone looking closely at what they are doing.  That’s why they are fighting so hard to keep their reports to the Virginia Bureau of Financial Institutions secret.  Who can blame them?  The limited statistics released to the public reveal that Virginia car title loans are a growing […]

 “This is a fight we must win” said VPLC Health Law Attorney Jill Hanken at a rally on Sunday, January 15th at the state Capitol grounds bell tower. Senator Tim Kaine organized the event where Jill was one of more than 700 people rallying for the Affordable Care Act (ACA a.k.a. Obamacare)) and the rights of all Americans to have access to quality and […]

Here are the lessons we’ve learned directly from borrowers’ experiences with open-end, “line of credit” loans.  866-855-4501  Borrowers get caught in a debt trap “I kept paying and paying and paying on it, but the balance never went down. After a year and a half of never missing a payment, my balance was higher than […]

Hot off the Press and ready to view! We invite you to look at the 2017 VPLC Legislative Agenda to see our legislative priorities for this year’s General Assembly session. Each page has details of issues our staff is advocating on, what we hope to accomplish and bring awareness around to legislators, and quotations to inspire […]

VPLC wishes everyone a happy and healthy 2017

Both the Virginia Partnership to Encourage Responsible Lending (VaPERL)  and the Virginia Poverty Law Center(VPLC)  submitted comments this fall on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau  proposed Rule governing payday and car title lending.  You can see the full comments here and here. VPLC Comments with borrower Stories VaPERL (Virginia Partnership to Encourage Responsible Lending) Coalition […]

The Virginia Poverty Law Center is pleased to welcome new staff members: Eric Dunn, Valerie L’Herrou, and Regenea Hurte, Natasha Evans, and Davis Creef We are excited to continue our fight for civil legal justice with the help of our New Team Members. Eric Dunn Eric Dunn serves as a new staff attorney in our […]

Open enrollment for the Health Insurance Marketplace starts November 1, 2016. However, some consumers may still qualify for a special enrollment period or SEP before then. If consumers have experienced a life-qualifying event, such as having or adopting a child, graduating from college, moving, marriage or divorce, change in employment, change in immigration status, or […]

We’re honored that this month the Richmond Justice project chose to highlight VPLC Staff Attorney Susheela Varky. Her personal story, understanding, and huge desire to help victims is captivating. Read her captivating interview.

Last week the Virginia State Corporation Commission (SCC), responding to a legislative mandate from the 2016 session of the Virginia General Assembly, conducted a public hearing on the important issue of energy efficiency programs in the Commonwealth and the costs and savings that can be achieved through such programs. The Virginia Poverty Law Center (VPLC) […]

Post-recession America still has a somewhat hidden problem- hunger. Hunger is not always evident in communities or nationwide, but the Food Research and Action Center’s new report shows that “food hardship” is still a significant problem. “Food hardship” is defined as not having enough money to buy food that you or your family needed in […]

Join the thousands of people who have come together with us to as for affordable, clean energy to be a priority   Now is the time to bring equality to Virginia’s electricity. Low-income single and multi-family households—and minority families—pay much more for energy as a percentage of overall income than average households, according to a […]

A legend in the legal community is retiring.  The Virginia Poverty Law Center and many other organizations working for justice for all in Virginia owe their very existence to Jack Harris.  This article in Virginia Lawyers Weekly calls Jack Harris a jack of all trades.  He is not a “jack of all trades and master […]

  Virginia Hunger Solutions (VHS), a project of the Virginia Poverty Law Center in conjunction with the Food Research & Action Center (FRAC), debuted their first Annual School Breakfast Report: Food for Thought. The report highlights the marked improvement in implementing Breakfast in the Classroom and the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP), across the state of […]