Legal Aid of North Carolina (LANC) celebrated the opening of its new Raleigh office Monday evening with a ribbon cutting and community gathering at Beacon Point, a collaborative community hub in Southeast Raleigh.
The office, located at 1425 Promise Beacon Circle, Suite 201, will serve as a central hub for delivering civil legal services to residents of Wake and Johnston counties. The move expands LANC’s capacity to provide help to more individuals and families in crisis.
Funding from the City of Raleigh through the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) helped make the project possible.
Former Raleigh Mayor Mary-Ann Baldwin, who supported the effort to secure funding, praised LANC’s work during the ceremony.
“When Ashley told me they want to put legal services here, I thought…Talk about a lifesaver for people,” Baldwin said. “This whole community is about building people up, is about changing their lives, improving their lives, and I am so proud to be here today and so proud of what you’ve accomplished.”
The new office is part of Beacon Point, a development created to connect families with health care, financial services, small business resources and nonprofit programs near existing affordable housing, childcare and education options. The campus is expected to serve approximately 85,000 people annually and create about 90 permanent jobs. It is located along GoRaleigh transit routes and directly on the Walnut Creek Greenway to improve accessibility.
Ashley Campbell, CEO of Legal Aid of North Carolina, said the opening represents progress during a period of major statewide funding challenges affecting the civil legal aid sector.
“Our mission does not waver,” Campbell said. “We want spaces like this all across North Carolina, particularly in rural areas. We need for IOLTA funding to be restored for civil legal aid so that we can invest financial resources in NC communities where there are not large municipal budgets like there are in Raleigh. Every deserves fairness and access to our courts.”
Legal Aid of North Carolina is the state’s largest nonprofit law firm and serves all 100 counties.