5 Resources
VLSH operates the state's largest pro bono attorney panel, matching low-income women on Oahu, Maui, Hawaii Island, and Kauai with volunteer lawyers who handle full representation in family, housing, and consumer cases. The Queen Street intake office screens by phone first — call 808-528-7046 weekdays 8am to 4pm and have your most recent tax return or benefit letter on hand. Cases are reviewed weekly by the placement committee.
808-528-7046 · 545 Queen St Suite 100, Honolulu, HI 96813
UH Manoa's Richardson Law School runs supervised student clinics on the Dole Street campus including a Family Law Clinic, Native Hawaiian Rights Clinic, and Immigration Clinic — all open to qualifying women at no cost during the fall and spring semesters. Call 808-956-6545 to learn which clinic is currently accepting intake. Cases are handled by 2L and 3L students under faculty attorney supervision and can include full court representation.
808-956-6545 · 2515 Dole St, Honolulu, HI 96822
Disability Rights Hawaii is the federally designated Protection & Advocacy agency for the state, and its Bishop Street office handles cases where a woman with a disability — physical, intellectual, or psychiatric — has been denied housing, employment, education, or Medicaid services. Call 808-949-2922 Mon-Fri 8:30am to 4:30pm. Common case types include IEP disputes, ADA accommodations at work, and Med-QUEST denials. Free for clients with qualifying disabilities.
808-949-2922 · 1132 Bishop St Suite 2102, Honolulu, HI 96813
NHLC has represented Native Hawaiian women, families, and communities since 1974 on matters tied to kuleana lands, DHHL homestead waitlists, water rights in traditional ahupua'a, and access to wahi pana sacred sites. The Bishop Street office takes intake by phone at 808-521-2302 — staff prioritize cases that protect Native Hawaiian cultural and property rights. Open weekdays 8:30am to 4:30pm.
808-521-2302 · 1164 Bishop St Suite 1205, Honolulu, HI 96813
The Access to Justice Commission, housed within the Hawaii State Judiciary, doesn't take individual cases but it funds and coordinates every legal aid program in the state — meaning their staff at 808-539-4860 know exactly which intake line is currently open and which has a waitlist. Call when a mother has been told one program is full and she needs to know the next door to knock on. Weekdays 8am to 4pm.
808-539-4860 · Honolulu, HI