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The Virginia Legal Aid Society (VLAS) officially opens its new Suffolk office with a ribbon-cutting ceremony. The office at 2480 Pruden Blvd. provides the space, layout, and technology to help VLAS make a bigger impact in serving the residents of Suffolk and nearby communities. 

“Through the expansion of our work in critical areas such as eviction prevention and domestic violence, our Suffolk team is touching more lives than ever,” said David Neumeyer, VLAS Executive Director. “This Suffolk office building will help us continue to expand the work we do. The new building is the result of three years of planning, fundraising, and renovating. Thank you to the many individuals and organizations who supported this project.”

Obici Healthcare Foundation provided a major contribution to launch the capital campaign to pay for the new office location. Mary Morton Parsons Foundation provided a significant challenge grant, encouraging other donors to match the foundation’s gift. Other contributors included:

• Blocker Foundation
• George Birdsong
• Pruden Foundation
• Community Action Coalition of Virginia
• Camp Foundations
• Franklin Southampton Charities

“We’re proud of our long-time partnership with Virginia Legal Aid Society and our role in providing anchor support to assist in the opening this new office,” said R. Battle Betts, Jr., President and Chief Executive Officer of Obici Healthcare Foundation. “VLAS in Suffolk has been a unique partner in our efforts to improve community health outcomes in Western Tidewater, and we look forward to serving the community together for many years to come.”  

VLAS’s Suffolk office serves the cities of Suffolk, Franklin and Emporia and the counties of Sussex, Southampton, Isle of Wight and Greensville. It is one of five law offices serving VLAS’s 20-county, 6-city service area in Central, Southside and Western Tidewater, Virginia.

When VLAS moved into its previous Suffolk office at 155 E. Washington St. in 2008, it had five people on its Suffolk staff. Today, VLAS employs 11 people in its Suffolk office – roughly twice as many people as rooms in the Washington Street office. The office’s impact on the community has also grown. A decade ago, the office closed 493 cases that helped 1,138 people. In the year that ended June 30, 2023, the office more than doubled those numbers to 1,170 cases and 3,059 people helped. In addition, the office’s community outreach helped educate more than 1,000 additional people about their rights and responsibilities under Virginia law.

VLAS is now offering its Washington Street office building for sale. Proceeds will go toward completing the capital campaign for the Pruden Boulevard office.

Virginia Legal Aid Society is a nonprofit law firm that provides legal information, advice, and representation in civil cases to low-income individuals and families. Since 1977, VLAS has been the only institutional provider of such services in Central, Southside, and Western Tidewater Virginia. VLAS attorneys and paralegals use legal skills to solve problems in housing, access to health care, income and public benefits, family issues, consumer lending and assets. Our mission is to resolve serious legal problems of vulnerable people, promote economic and family stability, reduce poverty through effective legal assistance, and champion equal justice. See vlas.org for more. 

For More Information Contact: Cassie Powell, Managing Attorney, VLAS Suffolk office, (757) 324-5608, or David Neumeyer, VLAS Executive Director: 434-455-3090