Still, for 14 months he attempted in vain to work his way through the complicated and time-consuming snarl of getting Social Security disability benefits for his condition.

Then, he heard about the Legal Aid Society of Hawai'i.

"It took me a week and a half just to be able to call them," he said.

Four times the system had refused him. Doctors said there was nothing wrong, judges took their word for it and bureaucrats turned an unsympathetic eye. Meanwhile, Clark's disorder spiraled downward.

His life changed for the better after he worked up the nerve to dial Legal Aid. Within about 12 weeks he was receiving Social Security benefits, and Legal Aid had managed to connect him with a program that reduced his rent by two-thirds. Although his conditions persist, he says the improvement has been dramatic because the stress has been virtually eliminated and he's getting proper medication and better medical treatment.

"They fixed everything for me," said a grateful Clark, who is now able to to leave his home in Kaimuki, socialize, and even practice his guitar.

"So, yeah — Legal Aid saved my life. My case is closed, but they still call me and ask how things are going."

The cost to Clark for such assistance?

"Not one penny," he said.

'They are the best'

No one knows how many folks have been rescued by the Legal Aid Society of Hawai'i, but their numbers are legion. For more than half a century the organization has been fighting for the legal rights of those who can't afford an attorney.

Jennifer La'a, the Legal Aid advocate who handled Clark's case was working on 100 other cases at the time. La'a described Clark's situation as more or less typical.

Like most of the 97 staff members and 30 attorneys who work at the organization's nine offices around the state, La'a doesn't mind putting in long hours. They do it, they say, because the work is immensely rewarding.

They certainly aren't doing it for the kind of income they make working for a nonprofit organization that's frequently strapped for money.

"For what it's worth, we start lawyers out at $24,000," said Victor Geminiani, Legal Aid executive director. "The second year they work for $26,000. The third year they go to $33,000. Nobody in town that I can find hires lawyers for less than $40,000. Our lawyers don't go to $40,000 a year until the sixth year of employment.

"To be frank with you — they are the best."

Proud but modest

Legal Aid reached a milestone on Nov. 17 when it achieved its goal of raising $2 million to purchase and renovate its main offices at 924 Bethel St. On that day it christened the newly refurbished 1887 structure the Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Center for Justice.

Ownership of classy digs is a marked departure from the rundown location in Chinatown that it had occupied for years on Nu'uanu Avenue.

"That saves us $145,000 a year that we used to pay in rent. That's unrestricted money that we can now put in general direct services that don't have a funding stream," Geminiani said.

Humility has always been a part of the process.

Legal Aid Society of Hawai'i, one of the older such organizations in the country, began nearly 55 years ago on a shoestring with the stated purpose of securing "justice for and to protect the rights of the needy."

"It started out in 1950 on Alakea, between Merchant and King," said Betty Vitousek, retired Family Court judge, who was one of the founders.

"We had one attorney and one secretary. And the Better Business Bureau gave us office space in their building.

"All over the country there was a growing awareness of the need."

Before Legal Aid, poor people had little recourse other than to go to court and represent themselves, or, if they were lucky, convince an attorney to take on their case for nothing, she said.

Filling a need

In the beginning Legal Aid took on both civil and criminal cases. Later, it shifted its focus entirely to civil cases.

"I never worked for Legal Aid, I never handled cases for them, but just seeing the results and the growth has been rewarding," said Vitousek. "It is fulfilling a tremendous need."

Geminiani said one of the biggest challenges Legal Aid ever faced was extreme cutbacks in federal and state money in the mid-1990s. It eventually overcame that dilemma by diversifying its sources of income. But the loss took a toll.

Because of the cutbacks, Legal Aid is not able to provide the sort of comprehensive services people once received. On the plus side, Legal Aid now provides more kinds of services than before.

It also has the legal know-how to shift money the state pays many needy residents to benefits they are entitled to receive from the federal government.

"I would argue that Legal Aid is an incredibly good investment for two reasons," said Geminiani. "No. 1 is that we bring the state in a lot of money. Every dollar invested with us brings about $10 back into the state from the federal government."

That amount totals around $20 million a year, he said.

"No. 2, it increases significantly the sense that people have that our justice system is fair."

That's important according to him because average citizens almost universally believe America's justice system favors the wealthy.

"The fact of the matter is, good lawyers cost a fortune," Geminiani said. "And 90 percent of the people in our state and the country can't afford the lawyers who are working down on Bishop Street.

"Legal Aid fills one of the niches of society's craving for a sense of fairness."