Berkeley Law’s Homelessness Service Project (HSP) seeks to address the personal and systemic challenges and injustices faced by the unhoused people living here in California, as well as to educate and prepare attorneys who will go forward to take on this fight. Additionally, HSP seeks to provide a venue and communal space for discussions of current events, academic literature, and more, in order to encourage the development of robust and creative perspectives concerning how best to advocate for our unhoused neighbors.
Unhoused Californians frequently struggle to obtain legal services. Scarce financial resources, social stigma, and practical difficulties in transportation and communication mean that lawyers often prove hesitant to take on unhoused Californians as clients. As such, unhoused Californians often rely on local non-profits for meaningful legal assistance. These nonprofits provide resources such as basic legal advice and essential services, and drive impact litigation on behalf of the unhoused population of the Bay Area. The legal issues implicated in advocating for the unhoused community and for an end to homelessness are multifaceted and intertwined; they range from public benefits, to property rights, to criminalization, to the moral philosophy of the law. HSP seeks to train students to understand these complex issues and respond with empathy, dignity, and vigorous advocacy.
- The Suitcase Clinic: Working with a UC Berkeley undergraduate organization, we provide legal counseling and referral services to individuals who seek housing and legal service.
- Direct Services: Members will work directly to assist people who are experiencing homelessness with their administrative applications for various public assistance programs and may also participate in providing substantive legal assistance.
- Shadowing and Outreach: Members may shadow our supervising attorneys at the Homeless Action Center and perform direct outreach to gain a deeper understanding of common legal problems faced by the homeless and low- income community.
- Research: Our work also includes several research projects on issues of homelessness, such as the decriminalization of homelessness and informational primers to facilitate access to disability benefits. This past year, we conducted research in collaboration with the National Vehicle Residency Collective and Professor Laura Riley. Students researched local ordinances criminalizing the existence of unhoused people who live in their personal vehicles and proposed better, more caring policies.
- Facilitating Community Care: Those who are particularly enthusiastic about their work with HSP may choose to participate in an extra working group with the goals of making Berkeley Law and UC Berkeley broadly a more responsible, caring, considerate neighbor to the unhoused people who live in Berkeley. This may include a reading group, event planning, the creation / dissemination of pamphlets and zines, and more.
Supervision: Students will provide legal services under the supervision of attorneys from the Homeless Action Center in Berkeley, California.
Time Commitment: In addition to training sessions at the beginning of each semester, we will have biweekly meetings during the lunch hour. The precise level of time commitment varies based on which projects students choose to get involved with, though it will likely fall within the range of 15-25 hours per semester.
For more information, please contact the student leaders at hspprobono@berkeley.edu