Legal aid's mission is to 'make justice real' - in individual and systemic ways - for persons living in poverty in the district of columbia. In particular, legal aid provides civil legal assistance to individuals, families, and communities in the district who could not otherwise afford to HIRE a lawyer. Legal aid staff and volunteers provide a continuum of services from client education to full representation before a court or an administrative tribunal. Types of cases include preventing evictions and homelessness, preserving affordable housing, preserving home ownership, ensuring a safe and decent place to live, curbing abusive DEBT collection practices, securing access to health care, nutrition, and public benefits, protecting families against domestic violence, promoting family stability through child support and custody arrangements, and providing a range of civil legal services to the immigrant client community.