The Homeless Persons’ Legal Service (HPLS) provides free, practical legal assistance to people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness.
HPLS hold regular drop-in clinics at partner locations, staffed by a team of specially trained pro bono solicitors from our partner law firms.
HPLS helps people with a range of civil and criminal matters that relate to their experience of homelessness or housing insecurity. This includes:
- direct advocacy on housing issues, negotiating with housing providers to prevent vulnerable clients being evicted and becoming homeless;
- support for people facing criminal charges, with a focus on diversion from custody into therapeutic programs that deal with the causes of offending;
- helping people facing financial hardship by resolving issues relating to fines, credit and debt; and
- supporting people to access victims of crime compensation payments.
Informed by our casework, feedback from clients and the views of StreetCare, we also address causes of homelessness through strategic engagement and policy advocacy with government and service providers.