Legal Solutions for Homeless in San Francisco

San Francisco, CA — The BayLegal Economic Justice team works creatively to stop the cycle of poverty for disabled homeless persons. The San Francisco Chronicle’s Beyond Homelessness series highlighted their effectiveness last week: “…when people with disabilities get outside support applying for [Supplemental Security Income], they’re far more likely to be enrolled. Acceptance rates soar as high as 90 percent when attorneys are involved, according to advocates.”

“San Francisco and other counties right now should be looking at what populations are not being served and propose getting enough capacity to provide representation and advocacy for those folks,” said Steve Weiss, an attorney for Bay Area Legal Aid who has long helped people with disabilities apply for SSI. “This has been proven to work. It gets them off the street. It gets them housing.”

Read the Full Article: “Federal disability aid an elusive solution”