About Us

How We Work

See All

Direct Services

Our team provides free direct legal services and support or matches clients with pro bono advocates, ensuring they have a partner standing with them, their families,  and our communities as they pursue justice.

Learn More

Policy Advocacy

We address the root causes of inequities in our society by advocating for inclusive policy solutions in collaboration with grassroots coalitions and the communities most impacted by systemic oppression.

Learn More

Impact Litigation

We pursue groundbreaking legal strategies that promote economic and social justice for low-income communities and communities of color across the nation.

Learn More

Pro Bono Partnerships

Since its inception, Public Counsel has relied upon pro bono attorneys, law students, paralegals, and other legal professionals to partner with us to support clients, take on high-impact cases, and strengthen our advocacy efforts.

Learn More

Social Work Integration

Public Counsel values an interdisciplinary approach to law and social work that strengthens trauma-informed legal advocacy and advances effective outcomes across its work. 

Learn More

Resource Library

Popular Resources

See All

Report

01/28/26

Who Has The Power: Chronicling Los Angeles County’s Systemic Failures to Educate Incarcerated Youth

Los Angeles County officials often dismiss concerns raised by and on behalf of young people, claiming that the education-related issues for detained youth are not systemic. This report seeks to...

Learn More

GuideToolkit

01/24/26

Ensuring Family Connection: A Guide to Representing Parents in Probate Guardianships

Probate guardianships are often treated as private custody disputes, yet in practice they can resemble quasi-dependency cases—with serious and lasting consequences for parents, including suspension of parental rights and loss...

Learn More

FAQsGuide

01/13/26

Medical and Dental Credit Cards—WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

Do you need medical or dental care but can’t afford it? Are you thinking about making payments or signing up for credit? Be careful! Medical or dental credit cards can...

Learn More

How We Work

See All

Direct Services

Our team provides free direct legal services and support or matches clients with pro bono advocates, ensuring they have a partner standing with them, their families,  and our communities as they pursue justice.

Learn More

Policy Advocacy

We address the root causes of inequities in our society by advocating for inclusive policy solutions in collaboration with grassroots coalitions and the communities most impacted by systemic oppression.

Learn More

Impact Litigation

We pursue groundbreaking legal strategies that promote economic and social justice for low-income communities and communities of color across the nation.

Learn More

Pro Bono Partnerships

Since its inception, Public Counsel has relied upon pro bono attorneys, law students, paralegals, and other legal professionals to partner with us to support clients, take on high-impact cases, and strengthen our advocacy efforts.

Learn More

Social Work Integration

Public Counsel values an interdisciplinary approach to law and social work that strengthens trauma-informed legal advocacy and advances effective outcomes across its work. 

Learn More

Popular Resources

See All

Report

01/28/26

Who Has The Power: Chronicling Los Angeles County’s Systemic Failures to Educate Incarcerated Youth

Los Angeles County officials often dismiss concerns raised by and on behalf of young people, claiming that the education-related issues for detained youth are not systemic. This report seeks to...

Learn More

GuideToolkit

01/24/26

Ensuring Family Connection: A Guide to Representing Parents in Probate Guardianships

Probate guardianships are often treated as private custody disputes, yet in practice they can resemble quasi-dependency cases—with serious and lasting consequences for parents, including suspension of parental rights and loss...

Learn More

FAQsGuide

01/13/26

Medical and Dental Credit Cards—WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

Do you need medical or dental care but can’t afford it? Are you thinking about making payments or signing up for credit? Be careful! Medical or dental credit cards can...

Learn More

Preventing and Ending Homelessness Project

Overview
Explore Sections

Overview

Our Experts

In 2017, Los Angeles County voters approved Measure H, generating significant annual funding to combat homelessness. With this support, Public Counsel launched an innovative program providing comprehensive, trauma-informed legal services designed to prevent homelessness and remove barriers to stable housing.

In partnership with local homeless service providers, we serve youth, families, and single adults across LA County’s Service Planning Area (SPA) 6. Our team provides legal support in areas including eviction prevention, landlord disputes, accessing government benefits, worker compensation and unemployment, debt resolution, professional licenses and identification, and expungement of criminal records. In November 2024, voters approved Measure A, replacing Measure H with a permanent funding stream dedicated to affordable housing and homeless services, ensuring continued and expanded support for these critical programs.

Publications

Our staff work with clients and partners to identify patterns of injustice that impact and harm the communities we serve. Through strategic litigation, we effect large-scale change and systems reform while amplifying the power of affected communities and advancing public discourse.

See All

The Latest

Our staff work with clients and partners to identify patterns of injustice that impact and harm the communities we serve. Through strategic litigation, we effect large-scale change and systems reform while amplifying the power of affected communities and advancing public discourse.

See All

Get Help

Services

Public Counsel is part of the Lawyers Preventing and Ending Homelessness program in L.A. County. Contact our partner organization, HOPICS, to conduct an intake appointment to determine if you are eligible for services.

Contact HOPICS

If you are experiencing homelessness or are at risk of becoming homeless, you may be eligible for assistance with legal issues, including: eviction prevention, landlord dispute resolution, government benefits, workers’ compensation/unemployment benefits, clearing financial debt, professional licenses and identification, and expungement of criminal records.

PLEASE NOTE: This program is location-based and Public Counsel only serves people who live or stay within L.A. County’s Service Planning Area (SPA) 6 – an area that covers South L.A., Watts, Lynwood, and Compton. Other legal nonprofits serve the rest of L.A. County.

If you are located within the boundaries of this map (SPA 6) and would like legal assistance, you must first contact our partner organization, HOPICS, to conduct an intake appointment to determine if you are eligible for services.

If you are not located within our service area, please call 211 to determine where to go for local services at a Coordinated Entry System (CES) agency.

More info here