West Virginia Senior Legal Aid began in 1967 at North Central West Virginia Legal Aid Society (NCWVLAS). NCWVLAS was a traditional poverty law program, providing attorneys to represent poor West Virginians in legal crisis and other important cases. NCWVLAS covered an 11 county region in north central WV, cooperating with programs covering other areas of the state such as Appalachian Research and Defense Fund, Charleston Legal Aid Society, and the West Virginia Legal Services Plan. As the federal funding for legal services nationwide came under attack in 1994, NCWVLAS assumed the role of providing services exclusively to needy senior West Virginians throughout the entire state.
We changed our name to reflect our dedication to our state’s elderly in 1999, becoming West Virginia Senior Legal Aid. We enjoy the support of the federal Administration on Aging, the West Virginia Bureau of Senior Services, the Northwestern Area Agency on Aging, the Upper Potomac Area Agency on Aging, the Appalachian Area Agency on Aging, the Metro Area on Aging, the West Virginia Fund for Law in the Public Interest, the West Virginia Regional Long-term Care Ombudsman Program, and donations.