Trusted legal information can be expensive, and when you're in a tough spot, sometimes it's hard to know where to start. A new and free legal service is hoping to fix that.

For three hours each week, biology professor Stephanie Vernooy is fielding calls from people looking for legal information. She isn't a lawyer, but as a trained volunteer with Legal Hand Call-In Center, she's prepped to provide information, assistance and referrals.

"I like that it's local, connecting them with resources that are local,” said Vernooy. “If you search the internet yourself, there are so many things you will find that maybe aren't relevant to you, it can be hard to sort through it all."

The new service operated by the Center for Community Justice connects volunteers like Vernooy from the Albany-Schenectady area, with people nearby looking to resolve a problem affecting their life.

"We really think there is a place for regular people who are not lawyers to be able to give information to the people in their communities and be trained to do so,” said Bethany Cereo, center attorney.

Volunteers go through three weeks of training and a supervisor is always on stand-by if they need assistance during an interaction. They are trained to assist in areas such as housing, employment, immigration, family, domestic violence and government benefits.

"It serves everybody,” said Cereo. “There are no income requirements. We don't ask any questions about immigration status. Absolutely anyone can call. The only thing that we ask is that they live in Albany or Schenectady counties or they work in those counties."

The hope is to help people solve their problem before it escalates to legal action.

"We really hope to be that kind of middle place between I have a problem and I need a lawyer,” said Cereo.

The program launched the beginning of January and currently has 18 volunteers. In its first two months, the volunteers have helped 140 callers.

"It's really important for us that this is a neighbor-helping-neighbor model,” said Cereo.

They're hoping to expand to other areas in the Capital Region soon.

"We're really filling a gap,” said Cereo. “Information can be really hard to come by and to have this platform where it's free and people are trained to give it to other members of the community is very special."

In addition to calling, participants can use web chat, email and text, too.

"I like being on the preventative end and feeling like there's something we can do to help alleviate the stress on the court systems and then just for individuals help keep them out of situations that they don't need to get into,” said Vernooy.

Vernooy’s goal as a volunteer is to empower every caller so they know their rights, their options and feel confident in their next step.

"I'm excited about the opportunity to feel like I'm doing something that makes a difference to people and can help them,” said Vernooy.

Legal Hand is looking for more volunteers. Most work from home and are asked to work one three-hour shift per week.

Legal Hand Call-In Center serving Schenectady and Albany Counties, operated by The Center for Community Justice. You can call or text at (518) 400-5544 or email at schenectadyalbanyhelp@legalhand.org.