New legal aid program in Greene helps people in recovery
Greene County residents recovering from drug or alcohol addiction have a new program to assist them with legal issues.
Summit Legal Aid is providing new free civil legal help through a $50,000 program launched earlier this month.
The program, approved by the Greene County Board of Commissioners in December, is funded through money from a $26 million multi-state opioid settlement the county entered into in 2021. Those funds are distributed to each county for use in drug and alcohol recovery programs.
It covers a variety of areas of civil law where people in recovery can experience obstacles, including family court, housing matters, debt and other financial issues, and barriers to obtaining employment or legal documentation such as a driver’s license.
Those areas topped the list of Summit’s recent needs assessment survey, which also saw the number of legal matters the group handled in Greene County rise 22% from 2024 to 2025.
“Over 90% of our clients are low-income, and people who are in recovery are often facing financial burdens and challenges, and so it was kind of a merger of needs of people who are low-income but also in recovery,” said Brian Gorman, executive director of Summit.
Clients can receive advice and representation from attorneys and paralegals, and can have an attorney assist them in court.
It could mean helping someone who lost custody rights during a period of substance abuse win them back after becoming sober, Gorman said. In the case of people trying to overcome debt, assistance could take a number of forms.
“That could be defense in court,” Gorman said. “That could be negotiating with a creditor to resolve the debt by installments or lump sum. It could be dealing with the collections process and making sure that you don’t have judgments and levies against you.”
Though opioid overdose rates are trending downward, Pennsylvania is still in the upper half of opioid overdose deaths, according to 2024 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data.
“It’s been going on for many years, and it really has hit many rural communities, including Greene,” Gorman said. “So we’re really interested in a concerted effort for those who are coming out the other end of it and putting their lives back together to help them along the way.”
Clients can visit Summit’s Greene County office at 63 S. Washington St, Waynesburg.
They can also call 724-627-3127, email info@summitlegal.org or apply for free legal aid online at bit.ly/45d0GsR.
Summit will also be doing targeted outreach to community agencies that serve people in recovery, so they can refer people who might be in need, said Kimberly Tarbell, development and communications director for Summit. There will also be upcoming presentations to the public.
It’s a two-year project, Gorman said, though they hope it will have lasting effects.
“These are people who have already started to turn their lives around, and it’s a win-win because it helps Greene County residents and also helps systems and people within Greene County, whether it’s related to employment, whether it’s related to resolving debt, whether it’s related to income streams or just reuniting families,” he said.