A Welcome From Our Executive Director and Board President
In 2022, we were thrilled to celebrate the 45th Anniversary of the Justice & Diversity Center (formally known as the Volunteer Legal Services Program) and our efforts in serving the San Francisco community. Our generous supporters have helped us provide 45 years of services in four broad program areas: Pro Bono Legal Services, Homeless Advocacy Project, Immigrant Legal Defense Fund, and Diversity Educational Programs.
After two years of fully remote engagement, we were thrilled to start gathering in-person together with our supporters, attorneys, volunteers, and staff. Each reunion was a reminder that our mission is centered on people and focused on providing legal representation to low-income people and educational programs that foster diversity in the legal profession.
Our organization’s commitment to legal representation for all San Francisco community members and beyond continues to make great strides. We provided full scope representation to people like Maria, a young woman who left El Salvador to stop the cycle of violence to which she and her younger sister were constantly exposed. Upon coming to San Francisco, our team worked with her and that resulted in her being granted asylum, helping her to lawfully work, and secure a future for her and her family.
In addition to supporting clients, through our legal services programs, we are also proud of our diversity education pipeline programs. For the last 24 years, the Bay Area Minority Law Student Scholarship Program (MLSSP) has provided scholarships to first-generation students to support their legal education. In 2022, we granted $120,000 in new scholarships, bringing the total number of scholarship recipients to 122 and the total amount awarded to over $2 million.
We invite you to see how your support is changing lives by reading more below about the programs you support, the solutions driving that impact, and the clients that benefit from your advocacy. While we are proud of what we have accomplished, we have much more to do and we recognize we cannot do it alone. We thank everyone who has supported us, and we invite those who are ready to be a part of our mission to come join us.
Looking towards the future, we are enthusiastic about the impact we will make together.
Yolanda Jackson
Executive Director and General Counsel, BASF Executive Director, JDC
Vidhya Prabhakaran
President, BASF & JDC Board
The Justice & Diversity Center's Programs
We reach these goals through four programs that empower and advocate for thousands of people a year in San Francisco. Meet our Program Directors below.
Homeless Advocacy Project
Teresa Friend
Director and Managing Attorney, Homeless Advocacy Project
Immigrant Legal Defense Program
Milli Atkinson
Director, Immigrant Legal Defense Program
Pro Bono Legal Services
Antonia More
Director and Managing Attorney, Pro Bono Legal Services Programs
Diversity Pipeline Programs
Kerry Guido
Director, Diversity Pipeline Programs
The Homeless Advocacy Project
The Homeless Advocacy Project (HAP) provides legal and supporting social services to individuals and families who are homeless or at imminent risk of homelessness, focusing on the most vulnerable individuals and families in our local community. We are partners with organizations and agencies across the city to ensure everyone we connect with receives the support they need.
HAP Program Areas
The Homeless Advocacy Project is comprised of four program areas:
HAP's Eviction Defense
In partnership with the Eviction Defense Collaborative (EDC), we provide full-scope representation to clients facing eviction with a priority for disabled clients and clients with severe mental health disabilities.
We connect clients with essential social services resources and assist with eligibility requirements and applications. Approximately 40% of HAP’s eviction clients received assistance from the social services department in 2022.
We assist disabled and low-income applicants with the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) advocacy process, including initial applications, and appeals. Without an attorney the chances of acceptance are low and cases can take years.
HAP provides immigration services for immigrants experiencing or at risk of homelessness, such as applying for/or renewing citizenship, visas, asylum cases, receiving work permits, or adjustment of immigration statuses.
Immigrant Legal Defense Program
The Immigrant Legal Defense Program (ILDP) increases access to justice and protects the due process rights of low-income and unrepresented immigrants facing deportation.
San Francisco Immigrant Legal Defense Collaborative
ILDP helps build legal capacity as the legal lead of The San Francisco Immigrant Legal Defense Collaborative (SFILDC), a collective of 16 San Francisco organizations that provide free, high-quality, culturally competent legal services to adults, children, and families in removal proceedings. This means Northern California agencies are better coordinated and equipped to defend individuals in deportation proceedings in the San Francisco Immigration Court.
Attorneys of the Day (AODs) are experienced immigration lawyers who appear at the San Francisco Immigration Court to assist unrepresented respondents in their initial deportation proceedings. They provide individual consultations, legal advice, and referrals to help connect respondents with additional assistance, including full-scope removal defense.
Pro Bono Legal Services
Each year, our staff and more than 2,000 volunteers assist 6,000 clients with legal consultation and representation in nearly every area of civil law.
In 2022, volunteer attorneys donated 64,068 hours to support all of JDC’s pro bono legal services programs. This represents about $41,644,200 in attorneys’ fees.
Pro Bono Legal Services Areas
Our staff and volunteer-based projects include:
Community Organization Representation Project
Since 1996, Community Organization Representation Project (CORP) has provided pro bono assistance to Northern California nonprofit organizations, and those seeking to acquire nonprofit status, that provide direct services to low-income and underserved people. We assist these organizations, which do not have sufficient funds to pay attorneys, in the following areas: employment law, corporate governance and structuring, commercial leases, reinstatement with IRS, risk management, intellectual property and business contract issues.
Tenant Advocacy Project
The Tenant Advocacy Project (TAP) assists low-income tenants in San Francisco to avoid eviction by negotiating with landlords, rent boards, master tenants, and property managers.
The Family Law Project (FLP) assists low-income individuals and families with family law and related probate matters including divorce, legal separation, nullity, parentage, domestic abuse, guardianship, and conservatorship cases. We also assist with related issues such as domestic violence restraining orders in collaboration with the Cooperative Restraining Order Clinic (CROC).
Federal Pro Bono Project
The Federal Pro Bono Project (FPBP) provides information and advice to pro se civil litigants in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. This is done via Legal Help Centers in the San Francisco and Oakland federal courthouses. The Project also facilitates placement of civil cases with pro bono attorneys for limited or full scope representation when the court appoints counsel.
Legal Advice and Referral Clinic
Legal Advice and Referral Clinic (LARC) provides free legal clinics every month for low-income Bay Area residents in the Mission, Civic Center, and Bayview.
Low-Income Taxpayer Clinic
Our Low Income Taxpayer Clinic (LITC) assists low-income taxpayers who have tax issues with the IRS. This includes taxpayers in controversy with the IRS, individuals who have filed a petition with the U.S. Tax Court, and individuals who need help in obtaining other relief for a tax obligation.
Diversity Pipeline Educational Programs
Our educational programs help students succeed and explore their interest in a career in the law. From high school to law school, our programs break down barriers, build confidence, and show that the legal profession is for everyone.
Meet Kati – A Future Legal Star Who Wants to Advocate for Her Community
Katiuska (Kati) Pimentel Vargas, a recipient of the JDC Bay Area Minority Scholarship Program, graduated from the University Of San Francisco Law School this May. Read about how this first-generation college student Latinx Dreamer was inspired to pursue a legal career.