Reflecting on Our Fifth Year: Expanding Access to Justice for All

This year, Ohio Legal Help celebrated its five-year anniversary – a milestone that fills us with pride and gratitude. Since our launch in 2019, we have served 3.5 million users, 75% of whom live at or below 200% of the federal poverty level. These numbers reflect Ohio families navigating some of the most challenging moments of their lives.

For many, our website is more than a resource - it’s a pathway to resolving their legal issues. And over the past year, we’ve worked hard to make that path stronger, inclusive, and easier to access. 

We remain guided by a simple but powerful principle: to meet Ohioans where they are and provide the tools they need to take charge of their legal situations. With 70% of our users visiting the site on mobile devices, we’ve always prioritized a mobile-first design that allows Ohioans to find answers anytime, anywhere. In 2022, Pew Charitable Trusts recognized Ohio Legal Help as a national leader in providing accessible, high-quality legal information. This acknowledgment reaffirmed our commitment to inclusive design, but we knew there was more to do.

Here’s a look at some of the work we’ve done in the past year to break down barriers and bring justice within reach for all.

Empowering Survivors Through Innovation

We partnered with the Supreme Court of Ohio to develop the stalking and sexually oriented offense protection order tool, funded through a Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) grant. This tool enables stalking victims and survivors to more safely and easily access and complete the legal forms they need to obtain a civil protection order. 

Knowing that better access to information and court forms can empower individuals to take action, Ohio Legal Help began development of the new tool in 2023 and worked with experts from around the state, including the Legal Aid Society of Cleveland and the Montgomery and Hamilton County Courts of Common Pleas. The new tool allows users to easily retrieve and fill out the forms online, starting and stopping as they need to, and saving the information as they go. The site is accessible in English and Spanish by mobile phone, tablet, or computer 24/7; and has information on the different types of civil protection orders, online stalking, and gathering evidence from your phone. 

Supporting Ohio’s Ukrainian Newcomers

In response to the growing need for legal resources among Ohio’s Ukrainian community, we launched a new self-help tool and content for Ukrainian new arrivals.

Recognizing that nearly half of Ukrainians have limited English proficiency, we implemented multi-language translation across our site, making resources accessible in Ukrainian, Russian, Polish, and more. To further reduce barriers, we added a text-to-speech feature that supports low-literacy users and those with diverse learning styles.

From information on Uniting for Ukraine (U4U) program to connections with immigration and refugee resources, our tools and information are tailored to meet the needs of this community.

Bridging the Justice Gap in Cuyahoga County

For the thousands of Cuyahoga County residents who represent themselves in family law cases like divorce or custody disputes, the legal system can be overwhelming. This year, we partnered with the Cuyahoga County Domestic Relations Court to create the Virtual Self-Help Center, funded by a Supreme Court of Ohio Technology Grant.

This secure, mobile-first platform provides self-represented litigants with access to court forms, step-by-step legal information, and the ability to initiate cases from home. For those living below the federal poverty level - 16% of Cuyahoga’s population - this tool removes barriers like finding transportation and childcare, enabling them to navigate the legal system more effectively.

Cuyahoga residents who cannot afford legal representation will be the primary beneficiaries of the virtual help center, but it will be available for all self-represented litigants going through a matter in the Cuyahoga County Domestic Relations Court, which handles around 7,000 cases a year. It builds on the success of our first Virtual Self-Help Center in Montgomery County, launched earlier in 2023, and sets the stage for expansion into Lorain County in 2025.

Looking Back and Moving Forward

In our first five years, Ohio Legal Help has been a trusted resource for millions of Ohioans - families facing eviction, survivors of domestic violence, people navigating the civil justice system for the first time and more. As we’ve grown, we’ve listened to our users, responded to their needs, and innovated to make the legal system easier to access.

Whether it helps someone stay in their home, access civil protection order forms and find safety, or understand their immigration rights, our mission remains the same: to empower Ohioans with the tools they need to resolve their legal issues.

As we look ahead, we’re excited to continue expanding our reach and deepening our impact. Thank you for supporting us on this journey. This holiday season and beyond, we are calling upon you to help us serve more families who need support. Share our posts on social media; forward our email updates to your colleagues; donate to us to help us create more content, add new website features, and continue outreach to the most vulnerable populations in Ohio. 

Together, we can expand access to justice and meet Ohioans where they are.