The Homeless Advocacy Project (HAP) exists to meet the legal and advocacy needs of homeless individuals and families in Philadelphia. With a legal staff of six and a corps of 300 volunteer lawyers, paralegals, and law students, HAP engages in direct outreach to homeless individuals in need of legal services.

HAP's goals are to:

• Provide direct civil legal services to homeless families and individuals;
• Connect homeless clients with needed social services;
• Advocate for the needs of Philadelphia’s homeless population and promote positive policy changes to address those needs.

HAP's essential ingredient is community-based outreach to homeless persons. In the last decade, the number of homeless families and individuals in Philadelphia has continued to increase while the availability of affordable housing, as well as free legal aid and other services to the poor, has decreased. HAP's unique outreach program is vital to a population whose legal needs would otherwise be unmet. HAP collaborates with shelter providers, homeless advocates, community service providers and the legal community.

Each month, HAP conducts eight to sixteen legal clinics at shelters and soup kitchens located throughout the City. At these clinics, HAP's staff and volunteers meet and interview prospective clients, assess their legal needs, provide advice and referrals for services, and offer on-going legal representation and advocacy to those with more complex problems. HAP currently holds legal clinics at twenty homeless shelters and soup kitchens.

HAP also makes educational presentations to shelter residents and service providers to inform them of benefits and services available for homeless people, and to empower individuals to obtain benefits and services for themselves.

Through these efforts, HAP is often instrumental in helping homeless men and women obtain the access to shelter, income, and services they need to begin making their way to more secure, stable lives.