By Jake Poinier
The traditional statue of Lady Justice features her holding a set of scales and wearing a blindfold. The scales represent the weighing of evidence, and the blindfold represents being impartial to the defendant’s status, wealth, power and race—thus, representing a fair and just legal system. But all too often, the legal system fails to see and address the needs of the less fortunate.
For a century, the Legal Aid Society of San Diego (LASSD) has aimed to uphold the representation of Lady Justice with a focus and dedication to delivering on its mission to improve lives and advance justice through effective, efficient, and vigorous legal advocacy, outreach, and education.
“Unfortunately, justice is not always attainable for everyone,” says LASSD COO Joanne Franciscus. “We provide free legal services to low-income residents throughout the County of San Diego, in all the most fundamental areas of law that affects their day-to-day lives that they can’t afford private attorneys in.”
The list of services provided by the LASSD is extensive, spanning from access to healthcare to maintaining economic stability to family support. A housing team protects people from being wrongly evicted and helps homeless clients receive vouchers, at which point the SSI team —which helps with Social Security Disability Insurance or Supplemental Security Income — can ensure that they have stable income.
“Throughout the cases, we’re always thinking about needs and community resources that other teams could help them with,” Franciscus says. To further that goal, the society has incorporated case managers to augment its legal services and allow attorneys to help more clients.
In addition, the services are growing all the time due to the voices of the community—it's actually how the society began its education rights team in late 2019, says Franciscus. The program focuses on special education students, ensuring that school systems are giving them an Individualized Education Plan (IEP), addressing special circumstances, and ensuring that the IEP is followed, she says.
Franciscus stresses the value of taking a holistic approach. “Rather than looking at one individual problem, solving it, and then waiting until the client comes back, we really try to evaluate what the person needs to succeed, and to not need us anymore,” she says.
LASSD operates three offices throughout the County with 210 staff members, 82 attorneys, more than 200 volunteers ranging from high school students to retired judges, and partnerships with countless community-based organizations. While the organization is government-funded to provide free legal representation, they are also growing their unrestricted funds through philanthropy, including a Centennial Gala on November 19 at the US Grant Hotel.
Clients connect to the organization in numerous ways, including community partners, government agencies, the court system, and elected officials, as well as their website and 2‑1‑1 San Diego community services. The society also does significant education and outreach, with online and in-person clinics on topics ranging from bankruptcy and conservatorship to unlawful detainer and immigration.
“A big part of what we do is teaching people what their rights are in layman’s terms, so that it’s not an intimidating process and so they know what to expect,” says Franciscus. “For instance, during COVID-19, our housing team helped them understand all of the new pandemic protections for tenants.”
The organization’s outreach also extends beyond clients and their communities. “I always get goosebumps when I think about Thurgood Marshall’s quote on the Virginia Civil Rights Memorial: ‘The justice system can force open doors and sometimes even knock down walls, but it cannot build bridges. That job belongs to you and me,’” says Lorena Slomanson, Esq., director of development. At LASSD “Being the bridge is really important to us, and we do a lot behind the scenes to educate policymakers and media who come to us because of our expertise, to help untangle the web for the public. Our bottom line is getting results for people.”
This content was originally published in our award-winning magazine In Your Corner. See issue 13 of In Your Corner here: In Your Corner Magazine | Fall 2022 (flippingbook.com)