Too often, homelessness is a death sentence.
Three people die every day while experiencing homelessness in Los Angeles. Our neighbors who live outdoors are ten times more likely to die than people with homes. While Californians, on average, can expect to live to 80, the average homeless person in Los Angeles will die at the young age of 48.
People who experience homelessness have a significantly higher risk of acute and chronic illnesses. They use emergency rooms four times more often than other low-income residents. The average homeless woman will experience as much major violence in a single year as the average American woman experiences in her lifetime.
On any given night, more than 66,000 people experience homelessness in Los Angeles. Of these, more than 48,000 will sleep outdoors or in their vehicles.
If you’re like us, you find these statistics tragic and intolerable. That’s why Inner City Law Center fights tirelessly to get justice for the most vulnerable residents of Los Angeles.
Inner City Law Center’s service delivery model and programs move people off the streets and into housing, keep others from losing their homes in the first place, and advocate for systemic change that benefits homeless and working-poor families and individuals.
With the support of generous donors and volunteers, ICLC:
- Offers quality free legal representation to people who have nowhere else to turn
- Helps homeless veterans move off the streets and into housing
- Keeps precariously housed families from falling into homelessness
- Fights for safe, healthy, and affordable housing
- Forges pro bono partnerships that bring additional resources to bear to help transform the outcomes of cases and the lives of clients
- Engages volunteers and community members fighting to end homelessness via Homeful.LA
- Collaborates with partner organizations and government agencies
- Advocates through public policies to affect systemic change
The core of ICLC’s mission is to provide essential legal services that improve the health and well-being of people who have no other means of acquiring legal assistance.
We offer the support and advocacy of an attorney, which dramatically improves the likelihood of a positive outcome for their case. What’s more, ICLC connects people to financial resources that help them maintain housing over the long term, preventing homelessness before it happens.
In 2022, 834 attorneys, students, legal support staff, and other volunteers donated 14,706 volunteer hours to serving thousands of clients at City Law Center, fighting unjust evictions and helping vulnerable Angelenos receive millions in financial benefits.
We prioritize and empower the experiences of our clients.
Our clients are intimately involved in shaping the goals, strategies, and resolution of their cases. Our holistic, client-centered approach allows for their empowerment and choice, and builds trust between clients and attorneys. ICLC staff are skilled at conveying technical, legislative, or legal concepts to our clients while remaining sensitive to their lived experiences.
Who We Serve
We defend and protect the poorest and most vulnerable residents of Los Angeles. The majority of ICLC clients live at or below the federal poverty line.
- 97% live on less than $800 per week for a family of three
- 88% live on less than $513 a week for a family of three
- 80% are people of color
- 60% live with a disability
- 42% are female, 57% are male, and 1% are non-binary
- 25% are veterans
- 18% are seniors
All of our clients are struggling to overcome great odds. Our homeless clients often struggle with co-occurring disorders, such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and substance abuse. Most of our clients living in slum housing are undocumented immigrant families with children, many of whom lack English skills, and some are illiterate even in their native language.
Despite the many challenges in their lives, we are constantly awed by the resilience and perseverance of our clients. It is a privilege, an honor, and a joy to be of service to them.
