Career Trajectory: from Door-to-door Community Activist to Legal Services Director
The Charleston Gazette in lovely West Virginia has run a lovely profile of Adrienne Worthy, the non-lawyer who is at the helm of Legal Aid of West Virginia. Worthy arrived in West Virginia from Ohio in 1971, fresh out of college and eager to get involved in community activism.
‘I answered an ad in a progressive ad bulletin looking for door-to-door citizen activist canvassers. I came to West Virginia, the
closest place for an interview…. So for three years, I was going door-to-door every night from 4 until 9, five days a week, snow sleet or hail, to raise money and organize around environmental, consumer and utility issues.’
Worthy gravitated towards women’s issues, and spent several years with the West Virginia Women’s Commission. Eventually, her talent for nonprofit administration and passion for being a force for positive change in people’s lives drove her into the legal services community, where she’s found a home at Legal Aid of West Virginia.
We are a statewide nonprofit poverty law firm. We provide civil legal assistance and advocacy to low-income people and vulnerable people, domestic violence victims, people struggling with homelessness or working to get benefits they are entitled to. We also run the state’s long-term care ombudsmen program, advocacy for people in nursing homes. Our third component is advocating for adults and kids with mental illness.
And Worthy talks a little bit about what keeps her motivated in the face of funding cuts and other adversities.
I’ve thought about leaving Legal Aid, but the people I work with are some of the hardest working, most committed people I know. I get inspired by them. I get inspired by clients who have overcome incredible odds and, through our help, have been able to make a difference.
