Cuts to Legal Aid will cost San Francisco $4.2M and leave thousands more at risk of homelessness
Starting June 2026, thousands will need legal help with changing federal eligibility requirements. On average, 112,000 San Franciscans rely on CalFresh (SNAP/food stamps) to avoid hunger.
Without legal help, an estimated 90% of low-income consumers are at risk of losing limited income, savings and assets because they do not respond or contest an unlawful debt collection lawsuit – resulting in defaults and garnishment of protected limited income and savings.
SF Mayor’s Office on Housing and Community Development (MOHCD) eliminated civil legal services (GLS) funding which for decades has supported critical legal services for community members in crisis regarding housing, public benefits and services, and consumer protection helping to prevent homelessness and compounding emergencies.
Though far from enough funding to meet the need, for just $600K in GLS investment, BayLegal experts helped over 1,250 people resulting in a $4.2M+ Return to the city of San Francisco (homelessness prevention, taxpayer savings, increased income/stability, and dollars returned to local economy).
Just imagine what could be done with greater investment – more people helped to avoid homelessness and a larger financial return to the city.
With funding support for our work in San Francisco, BayLegal preserved critical benefits for a single mother who lost her childcare, health care, CalFresh, and CalWORKs for accepting rides to an affordable grocery store
Ms. Taylor, a single mother of three, lives in a San Francisco neighborhood without a nearby grocery store. She often purchased food when she was visiting her mother in another county, because her mother would give her a ride and groceries were more affordable, so she was able to stretch her CalFresh farther. When the county human services agency saw the out-of-county purchases, they transferred her benefits out of county, disrupting her local childcare, health care, and reducing her CalFresh and CalWORKs. When she went to a medical appointment, she learned the benefits had been terminated. Confused and overwhelmed, she called BayLegal. BayLegal represented her in appeal and at the hearing where it was agreed that the termination was an error and all benefits were restored.