Public Counsel’s Community Development Project
(CDP) works to develop the capacity of underserved and low-income
communities
by advancing affordable housing production and preservation; strengthening
the healthcare safety net; and building foundations for financial
independence.
CDP serves this mission by: (1) providing transactional
legal services and capacity building for nonprofit organizations
and microbusinesses,
and (2) affordable housing advocacy, education and enforcement by our
Housing Opportunities, Preservation and Enforcement
(“HOPE”)
Unit described below.
Transactional Legal Services and Capacity Building
Advancing Affordable
Housing Production and Preservation
The severe shortage of affordable
housing in Los Angeles is a significant hardship for low-income and
disadvantaged households, preventing them
from meeting their basic needs and increasing the risk of homelessness.
CDP supports nonprofits engaged in creating and preserving affordable
housing, social service providers partnering to create supportive housing,
affordable housing and tenants’ rights advocates. We also coordinate
our direct services and capacity building in this area with our HOPE Unit’s housing advocacy work described below.
Strengthening the
Healthcare Safety Net
Community-based, not for profit primary care
clinics in Los Angeles County are the backbone of a critical safety
net of care for more
than two million uninsured children and adults who reside in primarily
low-income,
minority and/or immigrant neighborhoods. CDP ’s clients include
nonprofit healthcare providers serving low-income and uninsured individuals
and families, such as federally qualified health centers, community
clinics, and mental health service providers.
Building foundations
for financial independence
Underlying all of CDP’s work is the
understanding that financial independence is crucial to create truly
equal access to justice. CDP’s
clients include nonprofits that help individuals and families develop
financial self-sufficiency, through financial literacy training,
individual development accounts, job training and placement, or entrepreneurial
training and development. Our clients also include low-income entrepreneurs
who are starting small businesses and need legal services for those
small businesses.
Transactional Legal Services
CDP provides a wide range of transactional
legal services to qualifying nonprofit organizations and microbusinesses.
We assist start-up nonprofits
that share our mission by helping to incorporate, obtain tax exemption,
and establish workable corporate structures and policies. We support
the growth and development of established nonprofits and microbusinesses,
by providing on-going assistance on an extensive range of matters
including board and organizational liability, employment laws, intellectual
property,
laws affecting fundraising, and corporate and tax compliance issues.
CDP supports the advocacy efforts of organizations and coalitions
who share our mission by providing legal advice and training on the
laws
and regulations that govern lobbying and election activity by nonprofits.
We also provide technical assistance in drafting and reviewing contracts,
including leases, loan and other financing documents, and partnership
agreements. CDP also supports the development of affordable and supportive
housing by assisting with pre-development issues including land use
and entitlements, and advising on the special issues nonprofits face
when entering into partnerships.
Education and Capacity Building
In order to help organizations remain
sustainable and productive forces in the communities they serve,
CDP offers seminars on legal
and compliance
issues, and publishes legal updates on changes in nonprofit law.
CDP also provides in-depth training for board members on issues such
as
corporate governance and conflicts of interest, fiduciary responsibilities,
self-evaluation and strategic planning, personnel policy and procedures
and financial responsibilities.
Housing
Opportunities, Preservation and Enforcement Unit (“HOPE”)
CDP supplements its transactional
assistance to affordable housing clients described above with efforts
to advocate and educate for
the creation and preservation of affordable housing using state
and local
laws. Through participation in coalitions and provision of direct
legal advice to nonprofit clients in the areas of land use and
affordable housing, the HOPE Unit advocates for local land use policies
that
preserve
affordable housing units, and advises on establishment of local
policies for mixed-income housing, housing element law, implementing
the state
density bonus law and second unit laws. Finally, the HOPE Unit
advocates to ensure compliance with the above laws, engaging in impact
litigation
as necessary.
Housing Element
In addition to the above, one full time Equal Justice
Works Fellow advocates for the development and preservation of
affordable housing in the greater Los Angeles area by using State
Housing
Element
law. This project is focused specifically on 5-10 jurisdictions
in the
area and includes collaborating with jurisdictions in development
of their
housing element update drafts, monitoring development and compliance
with State law, and advocating for meaningful enforcement of
this law.
Last Updated:
April 16, 2008
