Monday, November 8, 2010
Page 3
Legal Aid Foundation Opens Clinic for Venice’s Homeless
By a MetNews Staff Writer
The Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles has announced that it is opening a new legal clinic in Venice for the homeless and individuals who live in their vehicles in response to stricter municipal laws and parking restrictions in the community.
Attorneys will provide information, legal counseling and other assistance as appropriate to homeless people who have been arrested or cited for violating Los Angeles City parking restrictions or other municipal laws that make it a crime to live in a vehicle on any public street or public parking lot in the City of Los Angeles or under control of the Los Angeles County Department of Beaches and Harbors; outlaw sleeping, sitting or lying on any street, sidewalk or public way; make it unlawful to be in any public park from 10:30 p.m. to 5 a.m.; and prohibit people from being on Venice beach between the hours of 12 a.m. and 5 a.m., the organization said in a press release Thursday.
Susan Millmann, an attorney with LAFLA who is helping to organize the clinic, remarked that the city and county ordinances “effectively outlaw homeless people from living within the city limits.” She said the clinic will work with private attorneys and the Public Defender’s Office “to ensure that every person cited or arrested understands his or her legal rights and has the opportunity to have a fair hearing if the claims are disputed.”
The walk-in clinic will be held every other Wednesday from 7-9:00 p.m. at the Venice Community Housing Corporation at 720 Rose Avenue in Venice.
Copyright 2010, Metropolitan News Company