With over 3,200 cases since opening in 2013, Open Door Legal provides ground-breaking free legal help to low-income residents of San Francisco. Open Door Legal began with an office in Bayview/Hunters Point, and has opened offices in Excelsior, Western Addition, and now Sunset. This fourth office is being commemorated outdoors on Thursday, October 5th from 2-3 PM at 1722 Irving St, San Francisco, CA 94122.

District 4 Supervisor Joel Engardio, clients, and staff from Open Door Legal will be saying a few words at the ribbon-cutting. There will also be a lion dance performance by Leung’s White Crane Dragon & Lion Dance Association.

“Sunset is very family-oriented,” says Lydia Yee, ODL’s Frontline Partner for Sunset. “Many elderly have been here for generations.” Since working for Open Door Legal, Yee has seen the effect of the lack of legal aid in the community she’s called home since 2017. “It can tie into someone’s well-being. Legal problems cause stress or poor quality of life that people don’t deserve.”

Since opening in March, the Sunset office has closed 78 cases and opened hundreds more. Representing clients in over 34 different areas of law including housing, family, immigration and employment, Open Door Legal’s team is pioneering the country’s first system of universal access to legal help–which they are working to expand across San Francisco and replicate in other cities.