Welcome to the Homeless/Immigration practice area!

Join this site if you are a volunteer attorney, legal services advocate, law student or faculty member advising low-income and disadvantaged clients. There are resources here to help you.

Homeless Advocacy


Interested in Volunteering?

As a legal advocate for the homeless, you can provide assistance to homeless individuals on a wide range of legal issues, including:

  • public & disability benefits

  • landlord/tenant

    Please click here to find organizations who provide legal services to homeless individuals throughout the Bay Area. In San Francisco, you can consider volunteering through the Homeless Advocacy Project (HAP). HAP provides free legal services and supporting social services to people in San Francisco who are homeless, or at serious risk of becoming homeless.HAP volunteer attorneys and advocates are matched with their clients on Friday afternoons. In exchange for free training and MCLE credit for attorneys, legal volunteers are asked to assist 3 HAP clients over the course of the following year.

Contact JDC's Volunteer Coordinator

probono@sfbar.org

415.782.9000 x 8759


HAP staff, together with legal and social services volunteers, assist clients with a wide variety of issues, in the belief that a holistic approach to the client's situation is the most effective way to truly make a difference in a person's life. All clients are screened during HAP intake. If the client has a potential ongoing legal issue with which she or he needs assistance, HAP staff will review the case and match the client with a volunteer attorney or advocate at a representation clinic.

Social Services Volunteers:

HAP Social Services volunteers are a key component of our holistic psychosocial delivery system.

This holistic system brings together volunteers from various human service professions, including psychiatry, psychology, social work, and employment development, who work with clients to address the diverse problems associated with homelessness.

There are many opportunities for volunteer services, including: crisis intervention counseling, time-limited therapy, employment counseling and social service advocacy.

We ask social service volunteers to commit to four to eight hours per month over a six month period.

Whats New

JDC's HAP Resource Manual AND Legal Advocate Manual


HAP's Legal Advocate Manual is now available in the library. Download a PDF version of complete manual for your office, or use the online version.

Resources for Volunteers providing Pro Bono Services to Homeless Individuals in San Francisco:

Comprehensive training: An MCLE-accredited 7-hour training contains an introduction to HAP, general information on homelessness, the most common substantive legal issues and basic psychological issues, as well as a two-hour supervised HAP clinic. The training is free in exchange for a commitment to attend at least 3 Representation Clinics in the next 12 months.

Extensive training materials including substantive law and resource manuals.

Mentorship from HAP staff and volunteer experts who are available to provide advice and assistance.