New Mexico Legal Aid

New Mexico Legal Aid gives free civil legal help to low-income residents. It handles the noncriminal problems that can upend a household, from housing and family matters to public benefits, consumer, and debt issues. Help can range from advice and brief service to full representation in some cases. Call the intake line at 1-833-545-4357, also written 1-833-LGL-HELP, or apply online.

Housing help is a core focus. The Housing Law group handles residential evictions, and it gives priority to cases involving subsidized housing. If you have a court paper or an eviction notice, that is a reason to call quickly.

It also covers the harder housing problems. Legal Aid helps with the termination of Section 8 vouchers and other housing subsidies. It also takes landlord-tenant disputes tied to domestic violence, and cases involving tenant-owned mobile homes in mobile home parks.

The work reaches past housing. Practice areas include Victim Services and Family Law, Housing Law, Economic Security, Consumer Law, and Veterans Law. So if your problem is a benefit denial, a debt, or a family matter, it may still fit.

The service is open and fair. No one is denied access based on race, age, gender, religion, political affiliation, beliefs, or disability. Cases are screened for income and the type of legal matter, since Legal Aid serves people who have run out of resources for basic needs.

Here is how to reach it. You can call the intake line, where phone intakes are taken during limited hours, Monday through Thursday, or apply online any time. For free plain-language legal information open to everyone with no income screen, visit LawHelpNewMexico.com, and dial 2-1-1 for local rent funds.