For Bell the service meant providing educational opportunities for a nephew from Samoa (formerly Western Samoa). The service helped Kamaiopili handle legal issues that prevented her from building a home for herself and two grandchildren who live with her.

"Although I sound like I can speak English, some of those legal matters are really hard to understand," said Bell, 59.

Bell, a single mother of Samoan ancestry, wanted to bring her 7-year-old nephew to Hawai'i, become his legal guardian and raise him here where he has an opportunity to go to college.

"I didn't have the opportunity back home but when I came here doors opened for me," said Bell, the head custodian at Dole Middle School. She's also planning to adopt another child to bring to Hawai'i. "I want to give that opportunity to somebody else. I want to see them succeed, go to high school, continue to college and able to have a better education."

The PATH project is a return to Legal Aid's past, said Victor Geminiani, executive director of Legal Aid. "We are employing our original goal as the general counsel for low-income communities throughout Hawai'i to institute change in those communities."

Having Legal Aid in the community is saving Kamaiopili hours of traveling to and from Honolulu, where she first enlisted the help of the organization. Before Legal Aid opened its satellite office in November, Kamaiopili caught the 5:45 bus to town in the morning so she could be home by noon.

A divorcee, Kamaiopili is raising two grandsons, 13 and 14 years old. She and an older grandson, Jeffrey Carvalho, were planning to combine their resources and build a home through Honolulu Habitat for Humanity, but the grandson died in a motorcycle crash last year.

Honolulu Habitat steered her toward Legal Aid, which gave her the support she needed to carry through the project that she felt compelled to complete for the sake of the two young boys.

"I have a mission," Kamaiopili said last week at the Legal Aid office in the Waimanalo Health Center. "I've got to finish up where Jeff left off."

She said she had tax issues that required her to go to court and Legal Aid helped fill out the proper forms and even provided an advocate to sit with her in court. Plus she learned about taxes from a course offered by the agency.

"Waimanalo is a growing community, and I think we need this kind of service here," she said.

Attorney Desiree Hikida Mokuohai, who was hired by AmeriCorps but works for Legal Aid under a grant, said the satellite offices are more comfortable for residents who can just drop by without an appointment. Legal Aid is a free service to low-income clients.

She and other attorneys provide services in the areas of family, consumer, public benefits and housing law.

They do not handle criminal or traffic matters. Paralegals are also available to act as advocates for clients, Hikida Mokuohai said.

Video conferencing units similar to those at the other nine Legal Aid offices will soon be available at the satellite offices, she said.

The agency not only deals with legal issues but helps in other ways by making referrals to different agencies concerning homelessness, employment, childcare and substance-abuse counseling, Hikida Mokuohai, said.

"I had someone come in because he didn't know how to get a job," she said, adding that the agency wants to help people overcome their fear of the legal system, "make it a little less scary for them."