DANVILLE -- Vermilion County residents who need help with certain legal matters have a new resource at their fingertips.

Vermilion County Associate Judge Karen Wall and Circuit Clerk Dennis Gardner Wednesday were scheduled to announce the debut of the Vermilion County Legal Self-Help Center website.

The site, at http://vermilion.illinoislegalaid.org, was established to provide accurate, up-to-date legal information on simpler civil legal problems to low-income people who must go to court but cannot afford or find an attorney to represent them.

Some of the information covers getting a divorce; getting child support; getting a protection order; suing someone in small-claims court or responding to a small-claims suit; when a landlord can evict you and the steps he or she must take before you can be ordered to move out; and what to do if you receive a foreclosure lawsuit and the options you have to try to save your home. The site also includes instructional videos, automated legal forms and other legal information on such things as powers of attorney, Medicare, Medicaid and unemployment compensation.

Those who don't have a computer or Internet access can visit legal self-help center locations at the Danville Public Library, 319 N. Vermilion St., Danville, or the Hoopeston Public Library, 110 N. 4th St., Hoopeston, during library hours.

The site was made possible through a collaboration among the Vermilion County Circuit Court, the two libraries, Land of Lincoln Legal Assistance Foundation and Crosspoint Women's Shelter. The Illinois Coalition for Equal Justice and Illinois Legal Aid Online provided technical support and assistance.

"It seems that each month more and more people are coming into court without an attorney to represent them," Wall said in a news release about the online center. "Very often these litigants have no idea about how to present their case to the judge. The new legal self-help center will help these people by giving them information about their legal problem."

While there's no substitute for a qualified attorney, "for many people, this is not a realistic option," Wall continued. Therefore, "unrepresented litigants will need to take time to prepare for their court hearing if they wish to understand their legal problems and how the court system works."

Gardner added that every day, people come into his office looking for help because they can't find an attorney to represent them.

"We are not attorneys," he said in the news release. "And until now, we haven't really had a good place to send these litigants to find good legal information that is easy to understand and use. This will be a great benefit to these unrepresented people."

He added his office will begin handing out information about the legal self-help center as well as a list of other options for legal help for low-income people.

Land of Lincoln Legal Assistance Foundation, which serves the county, tries to represent as many low-income people as possible using either staff or pro bono attorneys, said Valerie McWilliams, managing attorney of the foundation's Champaign office.

"However, the recession has increased the number of people eligible for our services," she said in the news release. And "at the same time, our funding has not increased. Even before the recession, we could help only about 20 percent of the people who qualify financially for our help. The legal self-help center will provide some increased access to the court system."

According to the release, the Vermilion County Legal Self-Help Center is the 57th center to be opened since 2007 by the Illinois Coalition for Equal Justice and Illinois Legal Aid Online in cooperation with local court systems, public libraries, legal aid organizations, local bar associations and other community organizations. There is also a website for Champaign County, http://champaign.illinoislegalaid.org.

Illinois Legal Aid Online is a nonprofit group with offices in Chicago. It has developed and maintains the underlying website for the center.

The Illinois Coalition for Equal Justice is a joint project of the Illinois State and Chicago bar associations.