Free Legal Clinic Helps Pasadena Renters Navigate Eviction and Benefits Battles

Pasadena residents facing eviction or struggling to access public benefits can sit down with an attorney for free on Tuesday at the Jackie Robinson Community Center, where Public Counsel holds its monthly Homelessness Prevention Legal Clinic.

The walk-in clinic pairs a Know Your Rights presentation on a housing or public benefits topic with one-on-one consultations — no appointment required, all services first-come, first-served.

The need has grown sharper in recent years. Pasadena’s most recent Point-in-Time count identified 581 people experiencing homelessness citywide, a 4% rise from 2024, with 342 unsheltered, a 7% increase, according to the city’s Housing Department. A December 2025 California Court of Appeal ruling further reshaped the local landscape, striking down two provisions of Pasadena’s Measure H rent stabilization ordinance — the relocation assistance requirement triggered by certain rent increases and a notice requirement preceding eviction filings.

Public Counsel, the nation’s largest pro bono law firm, has described the compounding pressures as a crisis of access to legal counsel that leaves renters vulnerable at precisely the moment when a lawyer’s guidance can keep them in their homes. The Pasadena clinic pairs with a second free Community Legal Clinic at the same center on the second Saturday of each month, co-sponsored with All Saints Church, that handles a broader slate of civil issues including family law, consumer debt, probate and expungements.

Attendees are asked to bring every document connected to their case — leases, court papers, notices. Those who cannot attend in person may call Public Counsel at (213) 385-2977 or the Jackie Robinson Center at (626) 744-7300.

The Homelessness Prevention Legal Clinic will run on Tuesday, April 21 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Jackie Robinson Community Center, 1020 N. Fair Oaks Ave., in Pasadena. Admission is free; walk-in, first-come, first-served.