Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles

When immigrants can access education, employment, and social services, they contribute their skills and creativity to our collective success. Recently, advocates from LAFLA’s Immigration Access Workgroup joined community leaders and elected officials at the 5th Annual Immigration Summit, honoring the many contributions of immigrant communities in the United States. Thank you to the California Community Foundation and USC Equity Research Institute for an inspiring meeting!

It’s illegal for landlords to force tenants out of their homes by changing the locks, throwing out their belongings, or cutting off utilities. So why do they keep getting away with it?

A new investigation by Business Insider explores the rise in illegal lockouts across major U.S. cities. Jeff Uno, Managing Attorney for LAFLA’s Eviction Defense Center, explained, “Folks are left to their own devices as far as getting themselves back in … There are punishments on paper, but in reality, they're being ignored."

Learn the full story at https://www.businessinsider.com/illegal-wrongful-evictions-law-enforcement-police-court-2024-7

Tenants have rights in the eviction process, and you don’t have to go through it alone. Apply for free legal assistance at www.stayhousedla.org.

🪷 This year's celebrated the people and culture of the Philippines, and our NEW Filipino Workers' Rights Project couldn't be more excited!

We served more than 250 people at the event in Echo Park, providing free legal consultations in Tagalog, English, and more languages. Go team! 🎉

Have legal questions related to workers' rights? Call our NEW Filipino Workers' Rights Hotline at (323) 801-7979 and get help in your language! ☎️

✊🏾✊🏽✊🏼L.A. is making moves to protect renters and prevent homelessness! This week, the L.A. County Board of Supervisors unanimously voted to guarantee free legal counsel for low-income tenants facing eviction.

Right-to-counsel programs keep people housed and save public dollars by ending homelessness before it starts. Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles is proud of our work with Stay Housed L.A. and the Renters' Right to Counsel Los Angeles to prevent unfair displacement and build stable communities!

Read more from David Wagner in LAist at https://ow.ly/VYqv50SGiyI

🌟Check out some highlights from our recent Stay Housed LA staff retreat held at LAFLA's headquarters!

Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles is the lead agency for Stay Housed L.A. a countywide eviction prevention initiative launched in summer 2020. Recently, members of our 24 partner organizations visited LAFLA's offices at ROJC for a program-wide retreat to strategize the best possible services for tenants facing eviction. 🏘️

Through Stay Housed L.A., LAFLA and partners provide free legal assistance along with workshops and educational resources for tenants. Knowledge is power — when tenants know and understand their rights, they are less likely to fall into homelessness!

Go Team Go! 🎉

https://www.stayhousedla.org/

Summer Night Lights is here!

Join LAFLA’s Restoring Communities team this Thursday & Friday at the annual Summer Night Lights month-long event! Presented by Los Angeles Mayor’s Office of Community Safety and Gang Reduction & Youth Development, SNL is aimed at helping communities most impacted by gang-related violence by reinvesting in our communities through free meals, extended programming and sports leagues, safe spaces for recreation, community engagement, employment opportunities, and linkages to local resources.

Come get to know your neighbors and public safety partners with arts, activities, free food, and other resources. Our advocates will be on-site offering free legal resources and information—stop by if you have a legal question!

🗓️Thursday, July 18th & Friday, July 19th at 7:00 P.M.
📍 South Park Recreation Center (Thurs) & Ross Snyder Recreation Center (Fri)

*Stay tuned for information on future dates*

Happy International Non-Binary People’s Day from Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles! Today, we celebrate the diversity, experiences and struggles of the community and work to proactively combat the systemic, intersectional inequities facing our staff, clients, and communities.

According to the Human Rights Campaign nonbinary, , and individuals are more likely to experience intimate partner violence, housing discrimination, employment discrimination, voter suppression, and more—often with no repercussions for these blatant injustices. Justice for some is not justice at all.

If you're facing gender discrimination at work, at home, in your medical care, or beyond, LAFLA may be able to help. You can also check out our guide to legally changing your name at lafla.org. We are with you.

💼LAFLA is ! Interested in being part of an organization that protects and advances the rights of the most underserved?

⚖️ Apply now and join our expert team of attorneys, paralegals, and support staff! Check out our job openings at https://ow.ly/5yqp50SzVPr!

Stop by and say hi to LAFLA’s Asian Pacific Islander Community Outreach team this Saturday from 12 - 7:30 p.m. at the annual Lotus Festival at Echo Park Lake!

This year’s Lotus Festival will celebrate the host country of the Philippines! Bring family, friends, and colleagues for a day filled with food, art, entertainment, dragon boat races, lantern festival, small vendors, and more! Our team will be on-site on Saturday offering free information and resources—pop in if you have a legal question!

🗓️ Saturday, July 13
🕔 12:00 pm - 7:30 pm
📍Echo Park Lake: 751 Echo Park Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90026

Meet our 2024 class of summer law clerks! These 33 students represent 20 law schools from 24 cities across the globe — as far away as New Delhi, India, La Habana, Cuba and Seoul, Korea. Our law students speak 22 languages other than English, ranging from Spanish, Swedish, and ASL, to Odia, Tagalog, and Farsi. These promising young advocates enjoy baking, doing puzzles, and scuba diving among many other fun activities in their free time!

Our law clerks contribute to LAFLA's important work in meaningful ways — and in turn, deepen their commitment to public interest law. Meet our 2024 law clerks at lafla.org/media-center/stories-events/

♿️ Happy ! We're celebrating the strength, creativity, and diversity of people with disabilities. As advocates, we're proud of our work to expand life-sustaining opportunities for people impacted by structural ableism and all its intersections.

We fight for because disabled people deserve access, equality, and justice. When having a disability means you are twice as likely to live in poverty and four times more likely to lose your home, it's clear that is a crucial piece of justice for all.

This month, join us in honoring the pioneering activism of the disability community—and committing to the work that still must be done to achieve safety, security, and liberation for all.

🎉 YOU'RE INVITED: Celebrate 95 years fighting for justice at LAFLA's Access to Justice Gala on Wednesday, September 25!

Join us to honor community leaders who work tirelessly to protect and advance the rights of the most underserved. We're delighted to announce that our 2024 honorees include:

🏆 Maynard Toll Award for Distinguished Public Service: Carol Sobel, Owner, Law Office of Carol A. Sobel
🏆Pro Bono Award: O'Melveny & David Lash, Managing Counsel for Pro Bono and Public Interest Services, O'Melveny
🌟*Additional honorees to be announced!*🌟

Support LAFLA’s fight for . Learn more and get tickets 🎟️at lafla.org/atj

Shout out to our Immigration Access Workgroup staff who showed up and showed out for , honoring the courage and resilience of refugees as they build new lives in peace and safety here in the U.S. We were proud to join the Refugee Forum of Los Angeles and our dedicated community partners in support of the clients and communities we serve. Go team! 🎉

Join LAFLA in the fight for justice and equity! We have multiple openings for attorneys, paralegals, administrative roles, support services, and more. Browse our open positions and apply today at https://lafla.org/get-involved/careers/!

Domestic Violence Restraining Orders (DVROs) save lives—protecting survivors and families as they escape from violence. Recently, LAFLA’s Survivor & Family Justice team joined fellow advocates like Sojourn and Jenesse Center, Inc. at a strategic meeting hosted by the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health's Office of Violence Prevention, working to improve and expand the systems in place to support survivors. We're proud of our leadership empowering survivors to access life-saving resources and ensure their families' safety and security.

We were proud to host Senator Laphonza Butler last week and introduce her to the important work of our joint Black Health Initiative at the Inglewood Health Center—LAFLA’s sixth Medical-Legal Partnership!

Discriminatory policies and practices mean Black Americans are disproportionately likely to face eviction and homelessness, medical negligence, economic insecurity and much more. These social, legal and economic problems can have a profound impact on health and wellbeing. In partnership with Planned Parenthood Los Angeles and the UCLA Law Center on Reproductive Health, Law, and Policy, we are helping patients and their families overcome these obstacles to improve community health outcomes.

Thank you to the Senator for visiting and hearing from our advocates and partners about the importance of combining legal services and healthcare to make a difference for our communities.

On Friday, the 2024 Los Angeles County Homeless Count revealed that over 75,000 people experience homelessness on any given night in our region. As Los Angeles works to bring more people inside, we can and must invest in permanent solutions that address the root causes of the housing crisis. By preventing evictions and providing housing that people at all income levels can afford, we can end homelessness before it starts.

Learn more from LAFLA senior attorney Shayla Myers in Courthouse News Service and Torched LA https://www.courthousenews.com/homelessness-in-la-falls-for-first-time-in-6-years/
https://www.torched.la/a-house-of-cards/

All LAFLA offices will be closed Thursday, July 4, 2024 in observance of Independence Day.
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Todas las oficinas de LAFLA estarán cerradas el jueves 4 de julio de 2024 en observancia del Día de la Independencia.

If you're dedicated to increasing access to justice while addressing systemic inequities among the most vulnerable members of the greater Los Angeles area, there may be a place for you Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles! Check out our openings at https://lafla.org/get-involved/careers/.

Month is coming to a close, but our commitment to equality stays strong. There is much work to be done to achieve true justice, but as we move forward, we also celebrate the achievements that came before us.

On June 26, 2015, same-sex marriage was legalized across the United States—a major milestone in the fight to ensure all people are afforded the same opportunities, no matter whom they love. And on June 28, we honor those who bravely defended their right to exist and prosper during the Stonewall Uprising of 1969—a catalyst of the gay rights movement and inspiration for designating June as .

This month and always, LAFLA fights for our clients' rights and dignity by ensuring each and every one has access to justice no matter their sexuality or gender identity. We are with you. 🫶

Happy ! 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️

June 26 is International Day in Support of Victims of Torture, marking a commitment to aid the millions of people subjected to violence and degradation by governments worldwide. For over 20 years, LAFLA's pioneering Torture Survivors Project has helped survivors rebuild their lives in the U.S., offering culturally intelligent and trauma-informed support with asylum, naturalization, and family reunification.

In her home country of Uganda, Hope endured days of torture by police for her opposition to dictator Yoweri Kaguta Museveni. Fortunately, she escaped, and after spending months in hiding, managed to arrive in the United States. But without political asylum, Hope risked deportation. With LAFLA's help, she was finally granted asylum in the U.S. and no longer lives in fear of being deported to the dangers she fled.

No one should have to fear torture or persecution for their beliefs. To learn more about our services or to apply for legal assistance, visit lafla.org

We had a blast at the LAFLA Associates Advisory Board's annual summer event, AAB Fab 2024! Thank you to the associates and fellows who joined us, to our generous sponsors, and to our Associates Advisory Board (AAB) for hosting this delightful evening celebrating all things pro bono.

Our 2024 Pro Bono Awards recognized outstanding volunteers who have demonstrated a strong commitment to pro bono service. For the first time ever, one of our honorees was an undergraduate student!

🏆Pro Bono Award: Joseph P. Marcus, Associate, Latham & Watkins; Aubrey Thompson, Associate, Latham & Watkins
🏆Student Pro Bono Award: Adrian Carachure, Medical-Legal Partnerships Volunteer

Thank you to ASK 4 TACOS Catering, LocoLotes, Churros Don Abel, and Yasmina's Craft Bar for the wonderful food, treats and drinks!

On Friday, the Supreme Court upheld a law preventing people subject to Domestic Violence Restraining Orders (DVROs) from accessing fi****ms. LAFLA joined legal aid organizations around the country to advise the court on how this lifesaving policy protects our clients on the pathway to safety.

In the U.S., a woman experiencing domestic violence is five times more likely to be killed if her abuser has access to a firearm, and Black women are twice as likely to be shot and killed by a partner than white women. The broader community is put at risk, too: Over 2/3 of mass shootings are connected to a case of domestic violence.

Safe families grow safe communities. 🌱 If you or someone you love needs help filing a DVRO, LAFLA may be able to help. Visit https://lafla.org/get-help/domestic-violence-family-law/

Texas Advocacy Project

LAFLA mourns the passing of civil and human rights icon Reverend James M. Lawson, Jr. In 2019, we honored Rev. Lawson with our annual Access to Justice Award, presented to individuals committed to creating justice in our communities. Rev. Lawson was a mentor to many at LAFLA, and his legacy will be remembered.

A leader in nonviolent protest, Rev. Lawson was instrumental in developing the lunch counter sit-ins and freedom rides of the . In Los Angeles, he was a critical voice in the movement for labor and economic justice. At our 2019 Access to Justice gala, he said: "The task of dismantling the wrong ... needs your work, but it also needs people who will one day cause a movement of struggle and truth to cross this nation."

Watch his speech here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I9_YORRm3MI

Rest in Power!

We are thrilled to celebrate the reunification of the Roman family, just in time for !

Ahmad's family was among the thousands of people who rushed to flee Afghanistan following the Taliban takeover in August 2021. Ahmad and his sons made it out. But in the chaos, the family was separated—and his wife and daughter were left behind.

Since then, LAFLA has worked with Ahmad to obtain asylum and reunite his family in Los Angeles. And just this month, attorney Christine Yoon accompanied Ahmad to pick up his wife and daughter at LAX!

We are honored to support our refugee clients as they build new lives in peace and safety. Thanks to CNN for uplifting Ahmad's story!

https://www.cnn.com/2024/06/12/us/afghanistan-roman-family-reunited/index.html

All LAFLA offices will be closed, on Friday, June 21, 2024 for an all-staff meeting.
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Todas las oficinas de LAFLA estarán cerradas, el viernes 21 de junio de 2024 para una reunión del personal de LAFLA.