The Santa Barbara City Council unanimously approved plans to extend funding for the Legal Aid Foundation’s “right to counsel” program for at least one additional year, giving the city time to explore a more permanent version of the program, which provides legal representation to low-income households facing eviction.
In December 2022, the city set aside a $250,000 for the one-year pilot program, giving the Legal Aid Foundation of Santa Barbara County money to hire an additional attorney and support staff that would allow the nonprofit organization to take on at least 80 more cases.
Housing and Human Services Manager Laura Dubbels provided a brief report on the first eight months of the program, which served 50 households as of the end of March 2025. These 50 cases, according to data provided by the Legal Aid Foundation, included individuals on Section 8 vouchers, families with children, and Spanish-speaking households. All of the households were either very low- or extremely low-income, with a majority earning less than a third of the area median income. In total, the program helped more than 120 residents, 32 of whom were children…