BASTA INC
1545 Wilshire Blvd 600, Los Angeles, CA 90017 www.basta.org

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Organizations Filed Purposes: Over the past several years, BASTA has focused its mission on helping low-income tenants in the County of Los Angeles regardless of race, age, gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, nationality, immigration status, or anything else. Among other areas of activism, BASTA does the following (in no particular listed order): (a) Provides legal counsel and trial representation to defend tenants (often in rent-controlled properties) suffering through eviction proceedings who could not otherwise afford such legal representation; (b) Promotes, advocates, and defends the Constitutional right to a jury trial under the Federal and California Constitutions by requesting and conduction jury trials in virtually every unlawful detainer action; (c) Undertakes appellate work when Courts deny tenants a jury trial (several of our cases are now published appellate decisions); (d) Promotes, advocates, and defends indigent access to the Court system by defending such indigent persons State rights to fee waiv

BASTA's stated mission is to fight for freedom, justice, and equality through the delivery of culturally-sensitive social, professional, legal, and educational services to those in need.

HOMELESSNESS PREVENTION AND ACCESS TO JUSTICE:BASTA saves approximately 5,000 men, women, and children from eviction and homelessness each year. BASTA is one of the largest, non-publicly funded providers of direct legal representation for eviction defense in Southern California. In this capacity, BASTA is able to provide - without any funding limitations or restrictions - legal representation to all tenants who could not otherwise afford quality legal services. Furthermore, BASTA provides education and outreach to help tenants understand the root causes of eviction and homelessness, as well as to understand their rights as tenants under local rent control ordinances and State law. In some circumstances, BASTA is able to provide displaced tenants (whether displacement occurred by eviction, fire, or other causes) with housing assistance, financial aid, rental subsidies, moving expenses, and general relocation help. Through representation of low income tenants before State tribunals and appellate courts throughout Los Angeles County, BASTA has become the pioneer of the right to a jury trial for eviction defense as well as for the waiver of jury fees for indigent tenants facing eviction.

IMPACT LITIGATION:Based on statistics from the Inner City Law Center, an estimated 48,000 people get sick each year from living in slum conditions. Exposure to rats, roaches, and bedbugs (chinches) can be devastating to an individual's health, causing illnesses such as asthma, bronchitis, rashes, etc. BASTA forces slumlords to repair their buildings or sell them to responsible landlords, as well as forces them to pay compensation to their low-income tenants for the suffering resulting from these slum conditions. Since its inception, through this project alone, BASTA has obtained an estimated tens of millions of dollars on behalf of thousands of families. Besides creating an impact through the eradication of slum housing, which carries a substantial positive ripple effect throughout the entire community, this project handles all sorts of other affirmative litigation impacting tenant rights from class actions to obtaining injunctions to rent reduction lawsuits.

GENERAL ADVOCACY, EDUCATION AND OUTREACH

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