California Rural Legal Assistance has opened an office space in Hollister where they see clients one day a week for legal advice on issues ranging from fair housing, education and public benefits, among other topics. The office opened two months ago. The nonprofit agency, which has 18 offices in rural parts of California, has slowly been building a client base in San Benito County that has largely been through referrals from other nonprofit agencies.
“What CRLA did is look really hard at our areas and areas that had the most need,” said Judy Vasquez, a community worker with the local office. “For Santa Cruz County, we had two offices but in San Benito there was no office and there was no other low-income assistance you could seek.”
The agency decided to close down the Santa Cruz office to create satellite offices in Santa Cruz and Hollister that are open one day a week, while maintaining a full-time presence in Watsonville.
CRLA offers free legal assistance to low-income residents who need help on issues related to housing and shelter, fair housing, education matters, public benefits or labor law. They do not handle criminal cases.
Vasquez said the agency is starting to see more walk-in appointments from people who said they heard about the services and need some help. She suggested people call for an appointment in advance since the office is only open in Hollister on Thursday, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Last week, they had three scheduled appointments and four walk ins. The bulk of cases in Watsonville are housing-related cases. Vasquez said residents can call the Housing Hotline Monday through Friday for general questions. For instance, if someone receives an eviction notice and wants to know what rights they have. The callers are screened for income and eligibility, then called back by a trained housing advocate.
Vasquez said they can help a resident understand what their rights are when it comes to housing law, including that a landlord can not force them to be out the day after an eviction notice. They also help those who may be living in substandard conditions or dealing with code enforcement issues in rental properties.
“The landlord needs to follow the law completely and make sure they do what they’re supposed to do,” Vasquez said. “We advice clients to do what the law says they have to do as well.”
Gretchen Regenhardt, the regional director for CRLA, said there are potential clients in San Benito County.
“Really our goal is to reach out and serve that community,” she said.
Regenhardt said so far the needs in Hollister have been similar to those in Watsonville. Many of the clients that have come in have requested help with appealing denials or termination of public benefits such as Medi-Cal, CalFresh, Social Security, unemployment insurance or more. They also have helped with education matters, such as assisting a parent with a child with special needs on getting services school districts are required to provide by law, in addition to the housing issues they help on.
“Those are always a concern for low-income (residents,)” Regenhardt said. “We are still trying to find out more about San Benito County in general and, in fact, I’m looking at this year as part of our community needs assessment.”
In addition to working with clients who have individual needs, Regenhardt said the office staff members are planning to host a series of legal education workshops that will answer general questions about the issues they handle.
The office has attorneys who will go to court with a client if their case requires it. Vasquez said the agency recently helped a group of tenants who were living in substandard housing win a monetary settlement. They also sometimes help with the “initial footwork” one some cases that are later referred to private attorneys, such as a wrongful termination case that involved sexual harassment.
“We filed the complaint and made sure the rights were reserved” for the client.
Both CRLA staff members said referrals from other nonprofits can be vital.
“I have to say word of mouth has been working so far,” Regenhardt said. “I’m really hopeful we can do some legal education and work on representation of clients and cases to improve conditions for people.”
The CRLA satellite office is open in Hollister Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., at 310 Fourth St. Appointments recommended by calling 831-688-6535. The Watsonville office is located at 21 Carr St.
Residents who have general housing questions may call the Housing Hotline Monday through Friday, at 831-688-6535.
