Help MHAS fight health inequities through its provision of free legal services for people with mental health disabilities

Please consider making a donation during Mental Health Awareness Month to support Mental Health Advocacy Services’ provision of free legal services for low-income individuals with mental health disabilities and their families.

If you made it this far, you may be wondering how it is that a group of legal advocates can improve health outcomes for people experiencing mental illness. While we aren't mental health service providers, Mental Health Advocacy Services recognizes that there are a myriad of non-medical factors that can affect a person’s mental health, well-being, and quality of life. For example, socioeconomic status and structural racism produce and perpetuate health inequities.

Our goal as legal advocates is to leverage our expertise to ensure that our clients have access to safe housing, stable employment, physical and mental health care, and other resources needed to prevent mental health challenges and/or address them when they arise.

Your support helps Mental Health Advocacy Services (MHAS) serve clients like:

• Sam, whose mental health deteriorated when he could not afford to provide for himself and his young son. Sam had difficulty finding a job due to a misdemeanor he had on his record from when he was a teenager. Sam receives supportive services through a community-based organization that MHAS partners with via LA County’s Medical-Legal Community Partnership (MLCP). After Sam’s case worker referred Sam to Mental Health Advocacy Services, MHAS attorney Kyra Clipper helped Sam secure an expungement of his record that will allow Sam to obtain employment in his desired field and will bring him one step closer towards financial stability.
• Cirila and her teenage daughter, Ana, whose mental health worsened whenever she thought of her mother going to court against their landlord. Ana was distraught over their landlord’s refusal to reimburse Cirila for expenses she incurred to repair their apartment after it flooded and ruined most of their personal belongings. When Ana shared with her mental health provider that her unstable living conditions were causing debilitating anxiety, the provider referred Ana and her mom to MHAS. MHAS attorney Erik Nickels helped Cirila secure a settlement that not only avoided the need for litigation, but also provided Cirila with a much-needed $7,000 reimbursement payment for the expenses she had incurred after the flood. The settlement also allowed Cirila to end her lease early without being penalized. Cirila and Ana are now enjoying a new, safe home which, rather than being anxiety-inducing, promotes well-being.

To learn more about our mission and programs, please visit mhas-la.org.