Eligibility

San Diego Volunteer Lawyer Program, Inc. provides free civil legal services to disadvantaged families, seniors, persons with disabilities, persons living with HIV/AIDS, and domestic violence survivors in San Diego County. If you live in San Diego County and are a low-income individual, you may be eligible for legal assistance. Because SDVLP provides legal advice, SDVLP can generally assist only one party to a case.

If you receive financial assistance under one or more of the following programs, you meet the income eligibility criteria for SDVLP’s free legal services:

California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKS)
Cash Assistance Program for Immigrants (CAPI)
General Relief (GR)
In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS)
Medi-Cal
Regional Center Services Recipient
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)
Supplemental Security Income (SSI)

OR: If your household income is at or below established income guidelines as determined by Title 25 of the California Administrative Code for Housing and Community Development you are eligible.

If you feel you would be over our income guidelines, you may still apply to SDVLP’s Restraining Order Programs and Landlord/Tenant Programs, as we will assess these applications on a case-by-case basis.

You can find more information about the programs we offer using the menu links above under Our Services, and the Frequently Asked Questions section also provides details on the types of cases that we handle.

Resources

Law Help California
www.lawhelpca.org

211 San Diego
www.211sandiego.org

San Diego Law Library
sandiegolawlibrary.org
Main Branch (619) 531-3900
Chula Vista: (619) 531-3900
El Cajon: (619) 531-3900
Vista: (760) 940-4386

San Diego County Bar Association Lawyer Referral Service
www.sdcba.org
1-800-464-1529; (619) 231-8585

North County Bar LRS
www.lawreferral.org
(760) 758-4755

San Diego Superior Court
www.sdcourt.ca.gov

San Diego Superior Court Family Law Facilitator
Phone (619) 844-2200

Legal Aid Society of San Diego, Inc.
www.lassd.org
1-877-LEGAL AID or (534-2524)

California Western School of Law – Community Law Project
www.cwclp.org

County of San Diego, Child Welfare Services
(858) 560-2191 (Child Abuse Hotline)

Crisis House (Domestic Violence)
(619) 444-1194 for appointment
www.crisishouse.org

YWCA
(619) 239-0355
www.ywcasandiego.org

San Diego Family Justice Center, City of San Diego
(619) 533-6000
www.sandiego.gov/sandiegofamilyjusticecenter

American Civil Liberties Union of San Diego/ Imperial Counties
(619) 232-2121
www.aclusandiego.org

Center for Social Advocacy (East San Diego County)
(619) 444-5700 or 1-800-954-0441
www.c4sa.org

Small Claims Legal Advisor
(858) 634-1777

Victims of Crime Resource Center
1-800-VICTIMS (842-8467)

Naval Legal Service Office (Southwest)
www.jag.navy.mil/legal_services/rlso/rlso_southwest.htm
(619) 556-2211

Adult Protective Services
(800) 510-2020

Elder Law & Advocacy
www.seniorlaw-sd.org
(858) 565-1392

Women’s Resource Center
www.wrcsd.org
(760) 757-3500 (24 hour hotline)

Casa Cornelia Law Center (Immigration resource)
www.casacornelia.org
(619) 231-7788 or 1-800-704-4041

Homeless Advocacy Program
(619) 544-9556

California Indian Legal Services
(760) 746-8941 or 1-800-743-8941 toll free
www.calindian.org

Friends Outside
www.friendsoutside.org

Legal Services for Prisoners with Children
www.prisonerswithchildren.org

Victims Witness Assistant Program
San Diego: (619) 531-4041
Juvenile Only: (858) 694-4254
North County: (760) 806-4079
South County: (619) 498-5650
East County: (619) 441-4538

Appellate Defenders, Inc.
(619) 696-0282
adi-sandiego.com

Federal Defenders of San Diego
(619) 234-8467
www.fdsdi.com

Public Defenders (San Diego County)
(619) 338-4700

District Attorney, San Diego County
(619) 531-4040
https://www.sdcda.org

Disability Rights California
(619) 239-7861
www.disabilityrightsca.org

Child Support Services- Department of Child Support Services
(866) 901-3212
www.sdcounty.ca.gov/dcss

Affordable Housing Advocates
(619) 233-8441
www.affordablehousingadvocates.org
Tenant’s Rights Project: (619) 233-7263

Housing Help San Diego
www.housinghelp.org