With Thanksgiving tomorrow, join Noozhawk on #GivingTuesday and conclude the year by contributing to the causes and nonprofits that matter most to you, as showcased in our Giving Guide.
Participating in #GivingTuesday is not just about making a financial contribution; it’s a chance to contribute to the well-being of others and foster a spirit of kindness and community. Let’s collectively make this holiday season a time of giving, compassion, and positive change. Your support can help create a brighter and more hopeful future for those in need.
Our Good for Santa Barbara Nonprofit Section provides all the resources you need to donate this holiday season!
In this interview, Noozhawk spoke with Jennifer Smith, Executive Director at Legal Aid Foundation of Santa Barbara County to learn more about how the nonprofit provides civil legal services to those who need it most.
Legal Aid Foundation of Santa Barbara County
Question: What is the name and mission of your nonprofit?
Answer: The mission of the Legal Aid Foundation of Santa Barbara County is mission is to provide high-quality civil legal services to low-income and other vulnerable residents in order to ensure equal access to justice. We change lives through legal representation, advice and information, and community education.
Q: How long has your nonprofit been in service, and who are its founders?
A: Legal Aid has served our community since 1959. Our founders included Stanley Schwartz, Lloyd Iverson and Harris Seed. Our first attorney was the late Louis Renga.
Q: What was the inspiration behind your nonprofit?
A: Most people know that if you are indigent and accused of a crime, you have a right to have an attorney represent you. However, if you are indigent and need a civil restraining order due to an abusive spouse or are at risk of homelessness due to an unjust eviction, there is no right to counsel. This is referred to as the civil justice gap. Many civil legal aid organizations, including our own, started in the 1950s as conversations were emerging about civil rights, racial justice, and access to civil justice. Our organization developed from leaders within the Santa Barbara County Bar Association who sought to address this civil justice gap in our community.
Q: How is your nonprofit primarily funded and what are your greatest needs?
A: Today, Legal Aid is primarily funded by government grants, grants from the State Bar of California, and private grants. However, a huge civil justice gap remains. The State Bar conducted a study in 2019 and found that civil legal aid organizations across the state could only resolve 30% of legal problems presented to them. At that time, the State Bar estimated that an additional 9,000 civil legal aid lawyers would be needed statewide just to meet the need of the lowest income, indigent Californians.
Q: In what ways does your nonprofit utilize its funding?
A: Our main expense is personnel. We employ highly qualified, licensed attorneys and legal support staff.
Q: Describe your organizations staffing models and internal operations. Has anything changed since the start of your nonprofit?
A: Our organization began in Santa Barbara in 1959 with only one attorney. Today, the Legal Aid Foundation of Santa Barbara County serves indigent clients countywide, operates the courthouse-based Legal Resource Centers for self-represented civil litigants, and employs 23 people. We run a lean operation with an Executive Director, a Finance Director, and an assistant as our only administrative staff. All other personnel work to directly provide legal services to our community.
Q: What makes your nonprofit different from others?
A: We are the only non-profit civil legal aid organization that is headquartered in Santa Barbara County.
Q: What is one best kept secret or fun fact about your nonprofit that not everyone knows?
A: There’s a good return on investment when making a gift to legal aid. In our Fiscal Year 22-23, Legal Aid clients had over $2 millions dollars in amounts recovered or debts eliminated during legal proceedings. This included a significant amount of rental assistance and relocation assistance that families would not have received without legal representation.
Q: Can you share one or two stories of individuals whose lives have been changed because of your organization?
A: Client #1: A woman was referred to Legal Aid by law enforcement for assistance with a domestic violence restraining order (DVRO). She was a Spanish speaker with two minor children. Incidents had been building up over several months, until one day the abuser struck her and left a bruise. The criminal investigation was still pending. The abuser had been sending the client threatening text messages and our client was fearful about what would happen if he returned to the house. The Legal Aid attorney filed a request for a temporary and permanent restraining order. The attorney also helped the client understand the pending criminal investigation and connected the client to community resources for victim’s compensation, counseling, and more. The Legal Aid attorney successfully secured a permanent DVRO for the client. Our client was very relieved she did not have to go through the court process alone, and she and her children could move forward in safety.
Client #2: This client was referred to us by another non-profit agency sheltering people experiencing homelessness. The client had applied for permanent housing, but the landlord rejected them after learning that the client would receive rental assistance with a Section 8 voucher. This denial was a violation of California Fair Housing law based on source of income. Legal Aid assisted the client with a mediation facilitated by the California Civil Rights Office, which resulted in a $5,000 payment to the client and education for the prospective landlord on fair housing laws. The client was able to secure other permanent housing.
Q: Is there anything else you would like to share about your nonprofit that has not been mentioned above?
A: Sometimes people think we are either a government agency or s part of the local bar association. We are neither. The Legal Aid Foundation of Santa Barbara County is an independent non-profit organization.
Click here to learn more about Legal Aid Foundation of Santa Barbara County’s mission to provide high-quality civil legal services to low-income and other vulnerable residents in order to ensure equal access to justice
Check out Noozhawk’s Guide to Giving for a full list of nonprofits to donate to this giving season.
If you would like to include your nonprofit in our Good for Santa Barbara section and Giving Guide click HERE.