Legal Aid Foundation Of Los Angeles

Housing and Communities and Eviction Defense Workgroup: The Housing & Communities workgroup takes a community lawyering approach to litigation and policy advocacy by supporting tenants and tenant organizations to enforce and enact housing laws. They defend residents of public housing and Section 8 voucher holders against losing their housing or housing subsidy. They also provide legal support to community-based organizations seeking to build healthy, economically vibrant communities. The Eviction Defense Workgroup provides direct representation to low-income individuals and families facing eviction; negotiates with landlords to ensure families can stay in their homes; helps clients living in uninhabitable conditions to get reductions in rent; and empowers tenants to advocate for their tenants' rights, all while working towards a tenants' right to counsel. LAFLA closed 1,612 housing related cases in this area of law in 2024.

Survivor and Family Justice: Helps survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault get restraining orders, divorces, child custody, visitation and support; and secures the return of concealed and abducted children. We deliver on-site family law legal services to survivors at two L.A. Superior Court locations, and we provide virtual appointments for clients staying at domestic violence shelters or receiving services from other community partners. The Workgroup also offers virtual family law clinics for survivors seeking assistance with motion and brief drafting. In 2024, the Workgroup closed domestic violence cases. Immigration Access: Helps survivors of torture and other harms seeking asylum in the United States by representing them before USCIS and EOIR; Represents survivors of domestic violence, human trafficking, sexual assault and other serious crimes to obtain protection and permanent residency; protects vulnerable unaccompanied children throughout the immigration process. In 2024, IAWG opened and assisted approximately 949 clients with their legal matters. These cases included naturalization, asylum, U Visa, VAWA, human trafficking, Special Immigrant Juvenile Status and refugee legal issues. In 2024, IAWG closed 1,043 total cases that addressed these legal issues.

Economic Stability: Assists vulnerable populations in obtaining and maintaining critical safety net benefits that helps them get food, housing, and medical care or services; Fights wage theft, wrongful terminations and discriminatory employment practices; Provides legal representation to disabled Angelenos in the Social Security Disability appeals process through the CBEST program, which assists individuals are homeless or at risk of homelessness in securing vital federal disability benefits; Discharges student loans based on disability or school fraud. In fact, LAFLA is the only legal services organization in the country that, for over 30 years, has consistently sought justice for low-income student loan borrowers and worked to change a higher education system that increasingly ignores the needs and experiences of low-income borrowers. In 2024, ESWG closed 1,112 closed cases in these areas of law.