Benefits Law Center

Mission

The BLC mission is to provide accessible legal advocacy to people living with physical and mental disabilities so that they may obtain the resources necessary to overcome barriers to financial and medical stability.

Restore our Justice Bus

Help us go BIG this year by restoring our Justice Bus – Washington’s only mobile law office! Through your generosity, we need to raise $40,000 to renovate the interior and exterior of our new vehicle to serve as an accessible and comfortable meeting space for clients to meet with our benefits attorneys and provide confidential legal advice and information. Since 2019, our Justice Bus has served as the first and singular rolling legal unit in the state to help people in poverty overcome barriers to legal services and economic stability, including transportation and accessibility challenges.

As you may know, our original Justice Bus was retired in 2023. Our new vehicle will allow our attorneys to restore our community outreach by meeting hundreds of clients who are homeless and low-income where they reside including rural communities throughout the Puget Sound. With your support, we will install more windows for ventilation, add a wheel chair ramp, install a desk and seating area, and complete the exterior signage on our vehicle so it is ready to roll this summer.

Legal Advocacy Services

Since 1997, Benefits Law Center has provided affordable and equitable legal advice and representation of up to 1,000 individuals per year who are low-income and/or living with disabilities, in matters related to their entitlement to Social Security disability, and SSI benefits. BLC assesses the needs and barriers of people living with disabilities in King County and the greater Puget Sound area, maintaining targeted projects to address the barriers faced by vulnerable populations in Western Washington. BLC makes direct legal representation accessible at the convenience of the client, and we assist in the benefits application and appeals process in a way that accommodates their disability. BLC specializes in workable advocacy plans for clients that face poverty, language barriers, homelessness, transportation, and mental illness.

BLC believes that advocacy for every client should include a strategy to make lasting improvements in the stability of health, housing, and stability. BLC maintains partnerships with all civil legal aid organizations in Washington, King County advocacy groups, legal service providers, and the U.S. government on behalf of disabled persons near the poverty line. 

Recognition

BLC Board Members: Shari Marion, Abigail Daquiz, Amy Tsai, Will Livesley-O'Neill, Thaddaeus Gregory, Corey Guilmette, and Susan Lee.

Corporate Sponsors and Community Partners: Legal Foundation of Washington, King County, T-Mobile, Windermere Real Estate, First Security Bank, Town & Country Markets, Wellpoint WA, Cognitive Leap, Fenwick & West LLP, Barron Quinn Blackwood, and Douglas Drachler McKee & Gilbrough.