Program areas at NLS-LA
Housing and Eviction Defense:NLSLA believes access to safe and affordable housing is not only essential for individuals, families, and communities but also a fundamental human right. NLSLA housing advocates addressing systemic and complex housing issues through affirmative litigation, impact litigation, and policy advocacy. NLSLA advocates protecting the rights of tenants and homeowners by preventing unlawful evictions and representing tenants living in Section 8 and other government-subsidized housing. NLSLA is the lead organization on the Shriver Housing Project-Los Angeles, which leverages the resources and expertise of four of Los Angeles' most prominent legal services organizations to provide self-help services and eviction defense to tenants. NLSLA is also a partner in Lawyers Preventing and Ending Homelessness (PEHP), a countywide partnership between legal and homeless service providers. The program leverages advocates to preserve housing for individuals at-risk of homelessness and provides comprehensive legal services for individuals experiencing homelessness. NLSLA is a key legal partner in the StayHoused collaborative in Los Angeles County, which provides legal representation, information, and resources to prevent eviction. NLSLA also provides legal assistance to residents of mobile homes - the last form of affordable home ownership in California. In 2023, NLSLA closed 2,907 housing cases.
Self Help Centers:NLSLA believes justice depends on equal access to the courts, especially for self-represented litigants. NLSLA oversees the nation's largest network of Self-Help Legal Access Centers (Centers), located in six courthouses throughout Los Angeles County. In 2023, more than 54,200 people received help at the Centers, with 90.7% of the issues involving family law, domestic violence or housing.This included 23,596 family law matters, 14,418 housing matters, and 13,770 domestic violence matters. In addition to individual assistance, the Centers offer education and workshops on a wide range of issues and provide easy-to-use information and instructions about drafting legal documents and preparing for hearings. This included 494 self-help clinics, educational workshops and trainings and outreach events held.
Health and Medical Legal Community Partnership (MLCP):NLSLA is at the forefront of health advocacy in California. NLSLA advocates utilize direct representation, policy advocacy, and impact litigation to resolve widespread health access and health equity issues along with running the nation's largest network of Medical Legal Community Partnerships (MLCP), through which lawyers collaborate with healthcare providers in clinics and hospitals to address the social determinants of health. NLSLA piloted the project for the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services. It proved so successful that today NLSLA's MLCP model is a permanent feature of the Los Angeles County health delivery system. NLSLA is also the largest member of the Health Consumer Alliance--a network of nine legal assistance programs operated by community-based legal services organizations across the state of California. As part of the alliance, NLSLA runs the Health Consumer Center--the largest project in the Alliance--which provides free legal information and representation to individuals struggling to access health insurance coverage or care and resolve problems with their health plans. Our advocates also work with clients to eliminate medical debt. This work includes challenging improper insurance denials, requesting financial assistance, overturning insurance denials, filing complaints with California's Department of Managed Health Care, working directly with providers and Medi-Cal, and State Fair Hearings. By utilizing these different strategies, in 2023, HCC's advocates successfully relieved more than $890,000 of client medical debt. In 2023, NLSLA closed 2,207 cases related to health issues.
General Legal Services: Includes public benefits, domestic violence, clean slate initiative, disaster relief, and policy advocacy. General legal services funds are used to support NLSLA broadly--fully funding some programs and supplementing others. In 2023, NLSLA assisted on over 150,000 legal matters. This included 9,087 attorney and advocate assisted legal and case management cases; 21,557 hotline calls addressed; as well as 83,064 unique views of NLSLA's online education, outreach material, and other resources on NLSLA's website. In 2023, NLSLA closed 1,272 public benefits cases and assisted tens of thousands of people through impact litigation.