For more than 85 years, the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles (LAFLA) has provided civil legal services to poor and low-income people in Los Angeles County. In 2001, LAFLA merged with the Legal Aid Foundation of Long Beach, resulting in more resources and a greater reach to people in need. Now with five neighborhood offices, three Domestic Violence Clinics and four Self Help Legal Access Centers, LAFLA serves communities as diverse as East Los Angeles, the Westside, South Los Angeles, Koreatown and Long Beach. LAFLA is the first place thousands of poor people turn to when they need legal assistance for a crisis that threatens their shelter, health and livelihood. Nearly 12,000 individuals and families are provided with legal services annually and an additional 35, 000 litigants are helped through LAFLA’s four Self Help Legal Access Centers. Another 20,000 are assisted through referrals, workshops and community outreach activities.