HELPING ANGELENOS WEATHER THE ECONOMIC STORM IN 2022

In 1974, Los Angeles faced many of the same problems we grapple with today. As gentrification took hold of neighborhoods, low-income residents struggled to keep up with the soaring costs of their homes. By pitching in just five dollars each, a group of legal professionals, religious leaders, and community activists opened a small storefront where they provided free legal aid for people with nowhere else to turn. They named the organization Bet Tzedek, Hebrew for “House of Justice,” after a central precept of Jewish law and tradition that declares: tzedek, tzedek tirdof justice, justice, you shall pursue.

Since the great recession over 14 years ago, when predatory lending practices eliminated significant property ownership in lower-income communities, we’ve seen the multiple ways in which systems continue to push individuals further into poverty. Today, as our economy once again lurches downward, Bet Tzedek is witnessing the disparate impact on the communities who lack the financial resilience to weather changing circumstances—and we continue to do the essential work to close the justice gap for lower-income Angelenos.

In 2022, Bet Tzedek provided legal advice and representation, delivered self-help clinics, made referrals to community partners, and assisted in creating influencial policy solutions that impact individuals throughout the state.

• JUSTICE FOR SENIORS AND DEPENDENT ADULTS We have unmatched expertise in the legal issues that affect seniors and dependent adults—expertise that helps them age in safety and security.

• JUSTICE FOR TENANTS, HOMEOWNERS AND UNHOUSED INDIVIDUALS We protect and preserve housing for Angelenos as they struggle with a worsening housing crisis.

• JUSTICE FOR CHILDREN AND FAMILIES Nontraditional families face myriad challenges in accessing food, housing, and medical care. We remove these legal barriers to ensure their complex needs are met.

• JUSTICE FOR WORKERS, TAXPAYERS AND SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS Helping to lift lower-income communities out of poverty, we fight for fair wages, safe working conditions, taxpayer relief, and equitable economic opportunities.

While we continued to achieve successes across all these programmatic areas, Bet Tzedek’s Economic Justice initiatives became an important focus given the current fragile economy and the additional strain it has put on our client communities. Some examples of our work:

PRESERVING A FAMILY’S ASSETS FOR THE NEXT GENERATION

Research shows that an inheritance increases a beneficiary’s immediate economic health and improves their ability to survive financial blows and take advantage of economic opportunities. Bet Tzedek provides long-term systemic solutions for lowincome clients who are trying to pass down their assets to their children and grandchildren. Their only asset may be their home, and as home prices soar and housing becomes an even more strained resource, it is crucial for these clients to not only hold onto their home but to secure it for future generations. While wills and living trusts can help facilitate the proper transfer of assets to family members through inheritance, only 31% of lowerincome families and 28% of families of color have wills.

In 2022, we continued to bolster our ability to assist low-income families plan for the distribution of their assets, including launching a Decedent Estate Clinic, the only selfhelp clinic of its kind in L.A. County that enables litigants to navigate the probate process more easily. By helping a family avoid the complicated probate process, we are giving them the legal tools to start building intergenerational wealth while also contributing to their local economy.

ADVOCATING FOR CALIFORNIA’S ESSENTIAL WORKERS

Bet Tzedek’s Employment Rights Project (ERP) has long been at the forefront of the fight to advance systemic change on behalf of lowwage workers. As part of this work, Bet Tzedek presents cases to the Bureau of Field Enforcement on behalf of the California Labor Commissioner. We are proud of the recent success working with the Pilipino Workers Center to advocate for 66 home health workers at Angel Connection Nursing Care. In 2022, after years of advocacy, Bet Tzedek and community partners won $1.8 million for wage theft violations, including failure to pay 22 workers overtime wages, nine of whom were also not paid minimum wages due.

This past year, Bet Tzedek continued to marshal our experience regarding the passage of California’s Garment Worker Protection Act (SB 62) to provide insight on federal efforts to pass a nationwide garment worker protection law. We also conducted “Know Your Rights” presentations on benefits for sick and injured workers, represented garment workers seeking wages due, and have begun working with the Labor Commissioner Office’s garment team to develop and implement industry case protocols. By preventing job and income loss for low-income workers, our employment rights services are helping workers bolster their economic health and better support their families’ well-being.

BRINGING BUSINESS SAVVY TO LOW-INCOME ENTREPRENEURS

Small business owners are a critical backbone of Los Angeles County’s communities and economy. Given our expertise in this area, L.A. County turned to Bet Tzedek to help build a county-wide legal infrastructure that supports small business owners throughout the region. In 2022, with County funding, our small business team was able to transition from a volunteer driven effort to hiring its first in-house team. Bet Tzedek’s dedicated staff has now been able to build deeper partnerships with other community organizations and translate existing outreach materials into multiple languages to make services more accessible to minority business owners.

With dedicated staff, we’ve moved into policy work in this area by helping develop a city “legacy business program” that links small business owners whose businesses are at risk of being lost to gentrification with business funding sources. Bet Tzedek has also started to help business owners explore options such as selling their companies to current employees. These approaches have been modeled in other cities and have been shown to be successful in strengthening the economic stability of local small businesses owners and the communities they support, including their local employees.

As it has done throughout the years, Bet Tzedek will continue to shore up resources and internal expertise to fight for justice for all Angelenos, while also impacting every aspect of an individual’s well-being, allowing them to thrive.