The Law Belongs to All of Us
STORIES OF CHANGE: Claudia
Claudia was married to a man who abused her. One night, she said she’d had enough and tried to leave. Her husband called the police and falsely claimed that she’d abused him. They arrested her and granted her husband a Domestic Violence Restraining Order.
Because of this, Claudia couldn’t go home to see her children, and had to sleep in her car. Five different legal aid groups turned her down for help. When she found us, we did an emergency intake and were able to prove that she was, in fact, a victim of domestic violence. She got a divorce, child support, and full custody of her wonderful children.
Why was it so difficult for Claudia to find help?
THE PROBLEM
In America, the constitution provides the right to an attorney in all criminal cases. But if you’ve got a civil case? Not so much. There is no right to an attorney, and access to representation is almost impossible if you don’t have the money for it.
In a city like San Francisco that spends so much on social services, it’s nearly unthinkable that Claudia couldn’t get help. People like her are being taken advantage of left and right.
This keeps low-income people locked in cycles of poverty, homelessness, domestic violence, and a multitude of other difficult issues. For instance, data show that it’s harder to enforce property rights in the US than in Nigeria if you’re poor. As the wealthiest country in the world, we don’t think that’s right.
CIVIL LAW
Immigration
Domestic Violence
Housing
Employment
Restraining Orders
Fraud
Elder Abuse
Social Services
WIlls and Probates
Custody
Because of the lack of access, the U.S. ranks 126th in the world for access to civil justice. Every light blue country is ranked higher than us.
Open Door Legal is pioneering the country’s first system of universal access to legal aid.
Our vision is to eliminate preventable injustice by giving everyone access to legal representation- first in San Francisco, and then, across the country.
OUR FOUNDING STORY
Open Door Legal was founded by Virginia and Adrian, who had met as law school classmates at the University of San Francisco. They were both convinced that access to legal aid was the most pressing need to address poverty.
With $8,000 in seed money, an office without heat, and borrowed supplies, we opened our doors on January 7th, 2013 in the Bayview/Hunters Point neighborhood. We never turned someone away who lived in the community, and by tracking our outcomes we were able to get more and more funding. We’ve come a long way since then, but there’s still a long way to go.
OUTCOMES
We represent low-income clients across over 35 areas of law. 52%% of our clients make less than $15,000 per year.
As of 2022, we have helped over 5,000 people with their legal needs, securing about $8 million in direct cash benefits, among many other benefits.
To the left is a map of clients who we’ve helped in just the surrounding area of our Bayview office.
STORIES OF CHANGE: Michelle
One of our first clients was Michelle. Michelle was born and raised in San Francisco. Her apartment was in horrible condition: Broken heater, black mold ringing the ceilings, and raw sewage backing up into her bathtub and toilet. She and her grandchildren had to relieve themselves in buckets.
Michelle found us when she was out of options. We fought back for her rights as a tenant and, within a week after judgment, every problem was remedied.
Today, Michelle sits on Open Door’s board of directors. Her determination helps to shape us and connect us with the larger community.
WHY LEGAL AID
Cases like Michelle’s show that legal aid is one of the most cost-effective interventions against poverty .
Unfortunately, it is also the least-funded. This is in part because people don’t know how effective our work is.
Studies have shown that the availability of legal aid directly impacts rates of homelessness, domestic violence, and poverty, among other issues.
STORIES OF CHANGE: Maria and Jose
Maria and her husband immigrated to the US from Mexico to escape the gang violence where they lived. Unfortunately, right after they moved to the US they were the victims of a random attack. When the family applied for green cards, they were all approved - except for José, who had gotten a misdemeanor as a teen.
Maria was devastated and scared of her son being deported. She turned to another organization for helped, but they said the case was too complicated.
When Maria found us, our immigration attorney rushed José’s paperwork. One week before Thanksgiving, we got to tell Maria that her son would get to remain with his family: His green card application was approved.
WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?
Our goal is to expand so that we can cover all of San Francisco’s low-income population, making San Francisco the first city with universal access to the law. From there, we will create a model for national replication.
We want every low-income person to know that when they are wronged--when their property is seized, when they’re trying to escape abuse, when sewage invades their home--that there is help. Because the law shouldn’t apply just to those who can afford attorneys. The law belongs to all of us.
GET INVOLVED!
THE LAW
BELONGS TO
ALL OF US