For students with landlords who did not refund their security deposit or roommates who failed to pay the rent, recovering their money through a small claims court is a possibility.

But a 37-year-old program from the Syracuse University and State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry chapter of the New York Public Interest Research Group has not received any calls from students this semester for free small claims court counseling, said Alejandro Fernandez-Lovo, project coordinator for the local chapter of NYPIRG.

NYPIRG would like to see more students take advantage of the program and is in need of more counselors, Fernandez-Lovo said.

In Syracuse, small claim cases are those that have a monetary loss of up to $5,000.

NYPIRG is the only group that offers this counseling service for free in the state. It has been offering small claims court counseling since the group's foundation in 1973.

But traffic from students is not nearly as high as that from other members of the Syracuse community. This semester NYPIRG has not counseled any students yet, and last semester NYPIRG only counseled a few, Fernandez-Lovo said. Most students in situations in which a small claims court could help do not know what road to take, he said.

"Students don't really know who to turn to," Fernandez-Lovo said. "It feels good that there is a group out there that can help out the student step by step into the process."

NYPIRG has been promoting its program by putting announcements on the radio, visiting classrooms and putting up posters on campus, Fernandez-Lovo said.

Calls from community members keep Fernandez-Lovo and the other counselors busy, he said. His office receives up to 10 calls a day requesting small claims court counseling, Fernandez-Lovo said.

"Residents of Syracuse who contact the office love the fact that we are there," Fernandez-Lovo said. "We get calls a lot every week."

Most of the counseling is done by students themselves. NYPIRG currently has five trained students and is in need of more, Fernandez-Lovo said.

Amanda Stromecki, a freshman pre-law student, said being a counselor helps her become familiar with her field of study. Stromecki became a counselor a couple weeks ago and is working on her first case.

"It's a really good experience as far as understanding the legal system and being able to advocate for people and give them advice," Stromecki said.

The only requirement to become a student counselor is to be enrolled in SU or ESF. All majors and years are admitted.

Counselors offer help at any stage of the legal process, from filing the claim to preparing the case.

"We give the customers as much help as they want," Stromecki said. "We can sit on the phone with them for 10 minutes and give them a broad overview. Or we can go step by step with them through the process."

Counselors cannot provide legal advice or courtroom representation. But they can inform and assist the people who seek their services.

"A lot of the times, they have never filed a claim before," Stromecki said. "We tell them what to expect and give them various options as to how they can approach filing the claim."

bfgraula@syr.edu