Legal Aid Foundation of SBC

Rental housing and affordability have been all over the local news in Santa Barbara, what with the City Council’s rent hike moratorium enacted to cover the rest of the year and the narrow passage of the new Rent Stabilization Ordinance earlier this month. Not long before that, Governor Newsom signed California’s first statewide Homelessness Prevention Strategy bill, crystalizing the conversation about these issues. 

Stabilization in rental housing is nothing new to Legal Aid Foundation of Santa Barbara County (LAFSBC), the local provider of free civil legal services to help balance the scales of justice regarding issues outside the criminal courts, where there is no constitutional requirement for attorney representation. A huge part of their practice for decades has been working with tenants at risk of eviction, including those who are facing an Unlawful Detainer, or at risk of losing Section 8 or other housing subsidies. Legal Aid Foundation represents as well those facing Fair Housing or Housing Discrimination issues. These services, which can include full legal representation, are made available for free to low-income individuals and families, seniors, and other vulnerable residents, including people with disabilities and survivors of domestic violence. 

There’s a direct link to homelessness, said Jennifer Smith, LAFSBC’s executive director.

“Typically the step that happens before somebody becomes homeless is that they’re evicted. Funding of legal services to either prevent eviction, or to reduce the incidence or soften the landing through a negotiated resolution, is paramount, particularly for the most vulnerable folks. It’s actually seen as part of a homelessness prevention strategy.”

The key is to stop the in-flow of new homeless people, Smith said. 

“While there have been tremendous strides in right and getting people housed, there’s still this challenge of preventing people from falling off the cliff. For us to really make a dent in this humanitarian crisis, we’ve got to turn off the spigot.”

Even beyond the emotional or equality side of the issue, it’s a cost-effective approach, Smith said. 

“Preventing homelessness is much less costly than trying to fix it after the fact,” she said. “When people fall deep into homelessness, living on the edges of our society, they tend to use services that are more expensive, like emergency rooms. There might be law enforcement activity involved. And trying to get them rehoused is also very costly for our society. Preventing it from happening in the first place works better. We’re a part of that solution.” 

That means no matter what eventually happens or works out with the new rent laws in town. 

“Whatever policies are set at the state and local level, for them to be effective, people need access to legal services,” Smith said. “It’s challenging for anyone to navigate. But if these other factors are at play – like low income, a limited command of English, or an older adult without support – it makes it that much harder.” 

That’s why, after an analysis of Legal Aid’s effectiveness, the City Council funded a pilot program partnership to provide access to counsel back in 2024, which allowed LAFSBC to hire its third full-time attorney to work on housing issues, opening the door to 80 more people or families receiving representation. The program has already been renewed twice. 

“We prioritize those who actually have an active eviction case pending, or an issue with a Section 8 voucher, a measurable degree of vulnerability where legal representation is critical,” Smith said. 

The government grant helps. But LAFSBC still relies heavily on community support, which Smith said actually influences the City Council decision. 

“It’s often a factor,” she said. “But even with that program, there’s still more people who need help.” 

Donations could help support LAFSBC’s education efforts, which can also be an early step in the process that might help avoid eviction, and help those who don’t qualify for actual representation. 

“We really want to ramp up our education piece,” Smith said. “Financial support can also help us do things like make improvements to our website, which definitely could use an upgrade, and create more informational resources to help get the word out.”

Beyond housing issues, LAFSBC also provides legal representation for other serious civil issues, including survivors of intimate partner violence, sexual assault, elder abuse, and more. October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month which, Smith said, serves as a reminder that Legal Aid is the county’s only provider of free legal services for civil restraining orders. 

“Our attorneys can also advise and provide information if a criminal case is proceeding because victims don’t have representation in the criminal court as the prosecutor is representing the people,” she said. “It’s important to have somebody available to help you even understand what’s going on, and to offer support in addressing a much more holistic set of needs, which we do working closely with our nonprofit partners.”

And of course, community support is becoming more urgent virtually every day. 

“With all the uncertainty at the federal and state level, it’s the local support that gives us stability. Grants can come and go, but it’s the community that keeps us going.”  

Visit https://lafsbc.org