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General assistance
The United Way's 2-1-1 service is an excellent one-stop information
source for people facing a variety of problems. Visit the United Way
for Cleveland,
Columbus,
Toledo,
Dayton,
or
Cincinnati, or go to the site of another
211
Ohio Collaborative member (such as
InfoLine
for Akron residents).
Lawyer referrals
There are many resources available to you if you need a lawyer. Most
local bar associations offer a referral service to match people with
lawyers. Depending on where you live, contact the bar association for
Cleveland,
Akron,
Columbus,
Dayton,
Cincinnati,
Toledo or Youngstown.
If you live in Ashtabula, Cuyahoga, Geauga, Lake, and Lorain counties, you can get help by attending a
Brief Advice and Referral Clinic sponsored by The Legal Aid Society of Cleveland's Volunteer Lawyers Program. For a schedule of clinics, click
here.
If you have a low income and need legal services, try the
Ohio State Legal Services
Association. The Office of the Ohio
Public Defender represents people who are accused of a crime but
cannot afford an attorney. You can also request help from the
Ohio Legal Assistance
Foundation.
Discrimination
Civil rights infringements are handled by the
Ohio Civil Rights
Commission. Discrimination in the workplace can also be referred to
the Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission, which has offices in
Cleveland
and Cincinnati.
If your rights have been infringed because of a disability, you may want
to visit the website of the
Ohio Legal Rights Service.
Prisons/Jails
If you believe that your rights with respect to medical conditions in
Ohio prisons have been violated, you may want to contact the
Ohio Justice
& Policy Center. The
Correctional
Institution Inspection Committee evaluates and inspects Ohio
correctional institutions. The
Office of the Chief Inspector monitors inmate concerns and problems.
If you are in jail, you might want to consider contacting the
Bureau
of Adult Detention within the Division of Parole and Community
Services. They assist local officials in compliance with jail standards.
AIDS
The non-profit AIDS
Resource Center Ohio provides assistance to people living in western
and north-central Ohio.
Problems with businesses
The Better Business Bureau
can help you if you have been treated unfairly by a business or charity.
Police brutality
Please submit police brutality complaints to the ACLU of Ohio following
the instructions on the Need Legal
Help? page. You may also submit a complaint to the appropriate
police department. Information is available online for
Toledo
and
Columbus. For incidents in Cincinnati, contact
Cincinnati's Citizen Complaint Authority. A City of Cleveland Police
Complaint Form can be found
here.
Research resources
Finally, our Legal Research Resources page
lists a number of good resources for those interested in researching the
law or contacting their representatives in government.
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