Nora, updated.

"But although Blue Ridge served more than 2,500 people in 2011, the agency turned away twice that many. “We’re so overwhelmed with people requesting our services,” Whitfield said. And 2012 may see fewer than 2,000 served, Whitfield said, as the organization faces a $180,000 budget deficit and the prospect of laying off five of its 23 remaining employees. “It makes a mockery of equal justice under law,” Whitfield said. “Without a lawyer you’re really lost in the judicial system. That’s why people hire lawyers. But what if you can’t?"