BATON ROUGE -  Executive director of Southeast Louisiana Legal Services Laura Tuggle spoke with the Press Club of Baton Rouge on Monday afternoon. She discussed her agency’s work to achieve justice for low-income people by enforcing and defending their legal rights through civil legal aid, advocacy and community education.

Tuggle notes that Louisiana consistently ranks as a state with one of the highest poverty rates in the country and that says Southeast Louisiana Legal Services serves about half of that population.

Belinda Parker Brown attended the meeting and is the CEO of Louisiana United International says the service would be a great tool in the areas that need it the most. 

"It would be a breath of fresh air to come into these types of areas that need their services, like expungement. So many young people need the services because they don't have the resources to afford an attorney, to get something as simple as a misdemeanor expunged from their record," Brown said.

Brown believes that many people want and need the help, but they just can't fund it. 

"They have all the means, but they don't have the money and they can not afford an attorney," Brown said. 

Laura Tuggle told WBRZ their goal is to change people's lives through the opportunities that the organization presents to low-income residents. 

"Our goal is to help improve the lives of low-income people and other vulnerable populations through civil legal aid and to help just improve a better quality of life and opportunity," she said.

For more information on how to sign up click here.