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Pisgah Legal Services
Written By: Marlene Osteen | Issue: March 2024
Dr. Fred Littleton’s decades-old commitment to compassionate care continues with a new avenue of service – Pisgah Legal Services.
Dr. Fred Littleton with a client
This week, as he has for the last five years, Dr. Fred Littleton, a retired and compassionate Internist from Asheville, will spend 10 to 15 hours volunteering with Pisgah Legal Services.
Littleton is one of dozens committed to helping low-income individuals and families gain access to healthcare services.
“I had volunteered throughout my career, and wanted to continue doing so but I was also eager to do something other than practice medicine,” he says. “This appealed to me and struck me as a way to get people really good health care.”
Since its opening 45 years ago Pisgah Legal Services has helped more than 863 people in 2022 alone in Macon and Jackson counties by preventing homelessness, stopping domestic violence, increasing access to health care, and securing basic income. At the heart of this impactful work is its robust volunteer program.
The urgent nature of their work is ever more pressing as recent changes in North Carolina legislation have dramatically expanded the reach of Medicaid. It’s estimated that in Western NC alone, 100,000 individuals are newly eligible to qualify for Medicaid.
The transformative impact of access to healthcare can be told in the story of this 55-year old woman. As the sole caretaker of her disabled husband and son, she was only able to manage an after-hours cleaning job and lived in constant fear of getting ill.
With Dr. Littleton’s assistance, she was able to obtain a healthcare plan.
Just in time, as it turned out, because shortly thereafter she was diagnosed with a rare and chronic, but treatable disease. Thanks to her insurance, which facilitated access to necessary treatments, her illness is now under control, allowing her to continue her vital role as the family’s caretaker and maintain her employment.
To prepare volunteers for their roles, PLS provides comprehensive training. The organization actively collaborates with volunteers to identify positions that align with their skills and interests.
As PLS’s Jennifer Collier Wilson explained, “Our volunteer corps and our donors are two sides of the same coin. It allows us to extend what we can do, to provide more support and serve more people.”
To volunteer or for more information, visit pisgahlegal.org/volunteer. You may also inquire directly to [email protected], or call (828) 435-2031.
