When citizens are denied public benefits like food stamps or unemployment insurance, they rarely seek legal council, said Geraldine M. Doetzer, the only public-benefits attorney at the Legal Aid Justice Center in Petersburg.

“If they apply and are turned down, they feel that it is something they didn’t deserve, so they don’t pursue a legal avenue even though they have a right to those benefits,” she said. “An attorney could be crucial for them to get the benefits.”