Legal Aid of Southeast and Central Ohio (LASCO, formerly Southeastern Ohio Legal Services) provides civil legal services and advocacy to low-income Ohioans to overcome unfairness and injustice, to reduce poverty, and to increase opportunity. Most of our work is in the areas of housing, consumer protections, protecting seniors and victims of domestic violence, and maintaining public benefits like Medicaid. In the past five years, we have recognized an additional essential need for the clients we serve: a valid driver’s license.
In our predominantly rural service area, a driver’s license is essential to economic and social activity. Without a driver’s license, people cannot access decent jobs, schools, medical care, grocery stores, churches, or their family members. There is limited public transportation in our communities, and people often drive long distances to work. National studies repeatedly show that people without driver’s licenses choose to drive illegally to work over not working. While this decision may be understandable when the rent is due, it leads to more suspensions and more fines that snowball into bigger and more expensive problems.