Bay Area Legal Aid

“There are no committees with authority to act on behalf of the governing body.”

“The board audit committee received a copy of the draft 990 and had the opportunity to review, ask questions, and comment before filing. The full board of directors receives a copy of the full 990 after filing.”

“Each member of the board of directors is provided a copy of the conflict of interest policy on an annual basis. Board members and key staff have a duty to disclose conflicts of interest or the appearance of such conflicts to the executive director or the chair of the board.”

“The board determines the level of salary of the executive director based upon performance and comparative market salary data. The executive director has the authority to establish compensation of the key management staff and relies on information from other legal services organizations and salary surveys.”

“Copies of the documents are provided upon request; some are also published in the annual report and on baylegal's website.”

“Bay area legal aid (baylegal) services positiviely impact clients and the broader community in significant ways, including preventing homelessness, protection from domestic violence and sexual abuse, securing vital healthcare services for physical and mental health conditions, and securing income and/or addressing predatory fees, fines, and debt collection practices to help individuals and families living in poverty pay for food, rent, and other life necessities. Often, baylegal resolves multiple interconnected legal issues for families to improve their overall self-sufficiency and quality of life. In addition to baylegal's primary work providing direct individual legal services to low-income clients, baylegal triages limited resources for greater community impact through extensive outreach and community education, legal clinics and workshops, technical assistance to other community and governmental agencies, and systemic advocacy and impact litigation. The following client story provides a brief example of how baylegal's services change lives: prior to coming to baylegal, baylegal's client and his severely disabled brother had experienced years of being unhoused, with short term stays in hotels and shelters where they experienced harassment. Baylegal's client was his brother's full-time caregiver and struggled to meet his brother's disability needs. Baylegal's attorney and social worker team met him at a bus stop while doing outreach to individuals experiencing homelessness. They learned of his frustrating unsuccessful attempts to get disability benefits and stable housing, and his fear that they had exhausted all options and would not be able to stay together. Baylegal's social worker helped him obtain immediate support and services to get off the streets while baylegal's attorney worked through legal issues for long-term stability and self-sufficiency. The social worker him apply for housing and a voucher to pay the rent, connected them to emergency health and dental care services, get enrolled in income and nutrition support programs. Baylegal attorney represented him through social security disability insurance (ssdi) process, including documenting his disability and representing him in hearings and testimony. After 3 years of legal advocacy his ssdi was approved with back pay. Now the brothers' lives are transformed. They are housed, with healthcare and financial self-sufficiency. Most importantly they are together and no longer fear being separated. Baylegal's client can provide stable care for his brother in their home. Baylegal balances direct individual services with broader impact work to address root causes of issues harming low-income residents and reach far beyond the tens of thousands of individual clients and family members we directly serve each year. By working directly with clients and in low-income communities, baylegal develops expert first-hand knowledge of the problems and legal barriers that harm people living in poverty and impede their struggle for self-sufficiency. Our broader work, informed by our individual work with clients, includes impact litigation, legislative and administrative advocacy and training, technical assistance and policy development for agencies that administer housing, healthcare, and public benefits programs for the bay area's low-income residents. The following description provides an example of the widespread impact of baylegal's systemic advocacy: baylegal, along with our partners at one justice and the center for consumer law and economic justice, authored an amicus brief which was referenced in the unanimous california supreme court decision protecting consumers from fraudulent lawsuits regardless of when they are discovered. In this case, like so many low-income consumers and tenants that baylegal helps, one individual only learned that a default judgment had been entered against him when the garnishments began. Following the appeal brought by kazan, mcclain, satterley & gr”