COMMUNITY LEGAL AID SOCAL
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Mission Statement
Community Legal Aid SoCal fights injustice and advocates for social, economic, and racial equity by providing compassionate, holistic, and impactful legal services.
About This Cause
Community Legal Aid SoCal (CLA SoCal) was founded as the Legal Aid Society of Orange County in 1958; in 1984, we expanded to serve the communities in Southeast Los Angeles (LA) County. We are the largest provider of free civil legal services in Orange County, California, and the only legal aid organization based in southeastern LA County with offices in Compton and Norwalk. With more than 140 full-time staff, CLA SoCal offers a wide range of help on a diverse array of legal issues. Our toll-free legal Hotline was one of the first—and now one of the largest—in the country. More than a dozen Intake and Assessment Unit staff, many of whom are bilingual, screen approximately 50,000 requests for help per year through telephone and online intake. Staff in the following units handle a wide range of civil legal issues: -Systemic Impact (Systemic advocacy and impact litigation) -Public Benefits -Consumer Defense -Family Law (with a focus on Domestic Violence prevention) -Health (with a focus on access to healthcare and insurance matters) -Immigration (limited to naturalizations and provision of services to victims of specific crimes) -Housing -Intake & Assessment -Elder law (for seniors ages 60 and older) Our two largest units are our Housing Unit and Family Law Unit, reflecting the greatest needs outlined in our triennial community needs assessment. Due to funding requirements, nearly all our clients fall at 200% or below the federal poverty threshold; there are exceptions for individuals 60 years and older and victims of crime. From this pool, clients who receive priority for more comprehensive services include survivors of domestic violence (particularly those with children) and other interpersonal violence, monolingual speakers, immigrants, individuals with disabilities, and members of communities who are less likely to successfully access the justice system on their own due to systemic bias. One of the keys to our success in reaching neighbors in need has been robust partnerships with other service providers in the region. In addition to working closely with other legal aid providers in LA County and Orange County, CLA SoCal collaborates with law schools and social work schools at universities including UC Irvine, UCLA, USC, and Cal State Fullerton. We work in partnership with the Superior Courts of LA and Orange Counties, including holding on-site clinics and operating the Compton Courthouse Self-Help Center. We also operate clinics at senior centers across Orange County, conduct intake at family justice centers/family resource centers, and operate jointly funded domestic violence (DV) prevention projects with several DV shelters in the region. CLA SoCal also relaunched our Pro Bono Department in 2019 to better leverage the considerable legal talent in southern California to fill the justice gap. Since 2017, CLA SoCal has adopted and trained staff in organization-wide trauma-informed practices. We have also integrated case managers into our legal teams; these case managers support clients as they tackle personal challenges, keep clients informed about and engaged in the legal processes they are navigating, and help them tap into resources that stabilize their mental well-being, physical safety, housing, and personal finances. In 2020, we expanded our definition of trauma-informed care to include Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI) practices: in addition to ongoing dialogues and training for our staff, we are infusing JEDI principles into our policies and procedures, including language justice policies and procedures, increased outreach to historically marginalized communities, and advocacy aimed at improving equity locally and nationally.