On Friday, February 27, the Legal Aid Association of California (LAAC) hosted its 9th annual Legal Aid Day in Sacramento. Attorneys from Legal Aid SMC’s Health Consumer Center (HCC), Elder & Disability Rights program, and Pro Bono program attended the event to connect with legislators and advocate for increased investment in legal aid.
As a member of the Health Consumer Alliance, a statewide collective of legal aid organizations fighting for healthcare services for all Californians, the HCC team stressed the importance of funding collaborative efforts. Partnerships like this allow the HCC program to identify legal issues that are also affecting people across the state and work together to solve them for future clients.
The HCC team also had the opportunity to speak with legislative teams from districts in San Mateo County. “We used these opportunities to talk about San Mateo County-specific issues, such as the wealth gap that is unique to our county, our aging adult population who rely on in-home supportive services to stay safely in their homes, and special needs children who also rely on in-home supportive services,” shared Camille Nguyen, Senior Staff Attorney for the Health Consumer Center.
Brian Fraser, Supervising Attorney of the Elder & Disability Rights program, also called our legislator's attention to CARE Court, a newly enacted mental health collaborative court. While most counties appoint public defenders as their respondent's counsel for CARE court, Legal Aid SMC is one of the few organizations that share this responsibility with the private defender bar. He noted that this gives our organization the unique opportunity to monitor whether CARE court is effectively delivering mental health treatment, social support services, and housing services to one of our most vulnerable populations.
At Legal Aid SMC, we believe that our community is stronger when everyone has access to legal services that allow them to navigate complex government systems that affect their housing, healthcare, immigration status, and civil rights. That’s why our teams go beyond legal service and representation to advocate for policies that put families first. Visit legalaidsmc.org/press to learn more about our work in the community!