By Mary O’KEEFE

For those who find themselves homeless, or fear they will soon be homeless, there are many barricades they face, from getting healthcare to finding help with food and shelter. There are mountains of paperwork needing to be filled out and hours standing in long lines, oftentimes only to find they are in the wrong line. Navigating the legal system that is in place to help homeless is, to some, an insurmountable climb.

The difficulty of dealing with the legal aspects of homelessness is made a bit easier with the help of the LA Law Library. Located at 301 W. 1st St. in LA, the LA Law Library is the second largest public law library in the U.S.

“For the homeless or near homeless, we [offer] classes on their rights,” said Leigh Garcia, LA Law Library communication manager.

There are also classes on obtaining affordable housing, how to deal with landlords and how to navigate the judicial services, she added.

“We are a one-on-one research [facility] and can refer people to other organizations,” Garcia said.

On a day when pro bono services were offered at a workshop, lawyers were on hand to help answer questions. Some homeless, like Jason in last week’s CV Weekly story, have several issues they’re dealing with, including claiming benefits from a former job, identifying social security benefits and discovering if his legal rights are being violated by family members.

Garcia said there are lawyers who specialize in specific areas and it is difficult to find who will help with what.

“The system of legal and system services is large and complicated –overwhelming,” Garcia said.

During the pro bono service day, organizers try to match the person in need with the service needed.

Even if someone has already been working with a lawyer, the LA Law Library can help those individuals find out if their lawyer is in good standing.

“We help [people] determine if [who they are working with] is a licensed attorney and help them understand what a valid and valued legal organization is,” she said.

The LA Law Library receives state and federal funding and its main function is to help the homeless or near homeless become empowered to help themselves.

In addition to classes, the library offers legal aid via video services and once a month will have lawyers at the library to personally answer questions.

“And we offer information on other issues, like consumer credit,” she said.

Garcia said they try to help all of those they can; however, there are many homeless in need.

“We have seen an increase in general across the board. The need has increased for the number of people self-representing over the last decade,” she said. “There are more and more people who cannot afford an attorney.”

Garcia added she had recently attended a seminar on the homeless in Los Angeles.

“We were told there are 10,000 [people] each month becoming homeless,” she said. “To me that is staggering.”

Another statistic she shared was that rents in LA County are increasing at a rate of 28% while renters’ income has decreased by 8%.

When speaking of the number of homeless increasing in some areas, there seems to be a myth that homeless people are picked up in one area and bussed to another, even bussed from other states.

“Three-fourths of homeless have been found to be in the LA area for more than five years. That is the same or a bit higher percentage than those housed people living in the area,” she said.

At its core, the goal of the LA Law Library is to get people involved in creating solutions by providing real and accurate information.

“The LA Law Library is all about self-help services, teaching people to know what their rights are and how to represent themselves,” Garcia said.

She said what they do transcends politics. Those who are homeless or near homeless want help, and they don’t ask what is the party affiliation of the person giving that help.

The LA Law Library has several satellite offices with the closest office to Crescenta Valley located at the Pasadena Library, 285 E. Walnut St., ., with free weekly service including legal research specialists (not attorneys) to help answer legal questions, on Thursday afternoons 1-5:00 p.m. in the Central Library Law Room. The library’s regular hours are from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays and 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Sundays. The library is closed on public holidays.

For more information, visit ww5.cityofpasadena.net/library or call (626) 744-4066 or visit lalawlibrary.org.

  Mary Okeefe