Mental Health Advocacy Services Inc
Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.
What it says it does
The mission of Mental Health Advocacy Services (MHAS) is to protect and advance the legal rights of low-income adults and children with mental health disabilities and empower them to assert those rights in order to maximize their autonomy, achieve equity, and secure the resources they need to thrive.
- Income
- $3.3 million
- Spending
- $3.1 million
- Spent on programs
- 89%
- Reserves
- 10.1 months of spending
- Largest source of income
- donations and private grants, 49%
- Employees
- 31
- Volunteers
- 2
- Highest pay
- $163,266, director of administration and finance
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Financial health
Good: 78 out of 100. Higher than 66% of charities in its peer group (mental health, $1m to $10m).
Reserves
28 of 35Spendable reserves would cover 10.1 months of spending.
Debt
20 of 20It owes 12% of what it owns.
Living within its means
15 of 15Income exceeded spending by 7% of income.
Income trend
0 of 15Income fell 26% on the year before.
Spending floor
15 of 1589% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 4 cents.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Governance
Strong: 100 out of 100. Higher than 69% of charities in its peer group (mental health, $1m to $10m).
Independent board
25 of 2524 of 24 voting board members are independent.
Conflict of interest policy
15 of 15Has a written conflict of interest policy.
Whistleblower policy
8 of 8Has a written whistleblower policy.
Record keeping policy
7 of 7Has a written policy on keeping and destroying records.
Board minutes
5 of 5Keeps minutes of board meetings.
Board sees the tax return
10 of 10Gave the board a copy of this return before filing it.
Pay set independently
5 of 5Sets its chief executive's pay through independent review and comparison.
Independent check of accounts
15 of 15Its accounts were audited by an independent accountant.
No reported misuse
10 of 10Reports no diversion of assets, excess benefits or loans to insiders.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Impact evidence
Describes programs. Its tax return describes what it does but we have found no measurable results in it.
Programs described in its return (4)
- $521,354 spent. Homelessness Prevention Projects - MHAS provides legal assistance to low-income tenants with mental health disabilities at risk of homelessness, including assistance in landlord-tenant rental disputes, pre-eviction legal services, advocacy to obtain reasonable accommodations, legal services to improve habitability and to ensure receipt of eligible income or benefits to improve housing stability, and renter education. MHAS is a key member of the Stay Housed LA coalition, a partnership between the County of Los Angeles, the City of Los Angeles, and local community and legal services organizations that provides tenants with the information and support needed to exercise their rights so that they can remain safely in their homes. Through its participation in this partnership, MHAS provides individualized advice and counsel on fair housing and tenancy rights to clients with mental health disabilities, as well as direct representation on behalf of these clients in conflicts with landlords, housing authorities, and non-profit housing and service providers. MHAS also provides technical assistance and training to other members of the Stay Housed LA Coalition on the rights and responsibilities of individuals with mental health disabilities. Activities in 2025 included legal assistance in 475 individual client cases and technical assistance to multiple mental health organizations and housing providers.
- $513,797 spent. Medical-Legal Community Partnership - MHAS is a key partner in Los Angeles County's Medical-Legal Community Partnership ("MLCP"), a project previously administered by the Department of Health Services and currently administered by the Department of Mental Health. Through the MLCP partnership, MHAS and other legal aid organizations assist participants with legal issues to ensure that they have the resources and support needed to achieve better health outcomes and overall well-being. Since the project began in 2018, MHAS has helped thousands of participants on legal matters in the areas of housing, public benefits, and discrimination; provided a series of trainings on legal issues pertinent to healthcare workers; and guided hundreds of clinical staff with legal technical assistance. In 2025, MHAS provided legal and technical assistance to 649 clients through this project.
- $229,037 spent. Mental Health Court Self-Help Clinic - In 2022, MHAS launched a self-help legal clinic in partnership with the Mental Health Court targeting individuals with mental health disabilities. The Clinic provided Court-approved information and resources about Mental Health Court proceedings to litigants and other members of the public who are not currently in custody. The Clinic also offered information and brief services on a range of ancillary civil legal issues with a goal of helping litigants achieve greater overall stability, thus allowing them to move through their proceedings at Mental Health Court with greater efficiency and success, and with less likelihood of returning. This included helping litigants secure and maintain housing, helping litigants access SSI or other benefits to which they may be legally entitled, and assisting litigants with obtaining - or having reinstated - their Driver's License or California ID, among other civil, legal needs. In 2025, MHAS provided information and technical assistance to 360 individuals.
- $1.5 million spent. Other program services in 2025 included: (1) Addressing Barriers to Reentry - Project RAFT (Reentry Advocacy for a Fresh Tomorrow) is a program designed to give a fresh start to formerly incarcerated individuals who reside in Los Angeles County and who have mental health disabilities. MHAS helps clients overcome barriers to reentry by providing legal services and advocacy in the areas of expungement, employment, housing, benefits, and traffic ticket advocacy. The project also partners with community health care and mental health care providers to host expungement eligibility screening clinics and provide linkages to medical and mental health care. The project's services lead to reduced recidivism, improved mental health outcomes, increased employment opportunities, and overall social stability for this highly vulnerable population. (2) CARE Court Advocacy - From 2023 to 2025, MHAS hosted a Skadden Fellowship project focused on providing civil legal services to litigants in Los Angeles County's Community Assistance, Recovery and Empowerment (CARE) Court. CARE Court is a new court system that allows a court to order behavioral health treatment for people with severe mental health disorders. Unfortunately, CARE Court has no authority to order permanent housing or other critical supportive services for respondents experiencing homelessness. MHAS' CARE Court project provided these individuals with comprehensive civil legal aid services in the areas of housing, benefits, and more, increasing their chances of meeting their CARE Court requirements and preserving their autonomy. (3) Consumer Finance - Consumer law and credit reparation are common areas of service across MHAS' programs serving low-income clients with mental health disabilities. With the support of an Equal Justice Works Fellowship, MHAS launched a new project in 2025 to address consumer finance issues faced by individuals with mental health disabilities. The project is empowering the mental health disability community in Los Angeles County to assert their consumer rights against predatory debt collectors through distribution of know-your-rights materials, trainings to community organizations, and provision of direct legal services to individuals. (4) Fair Housing - MHAS fights housing discrimination against individuals with mental health disabilities through legal representation, fair housing training, and community education. MHAS currently has a fair housing education and outreach project that educates mental health consumers and service providers about fair housing rights and responsibilities. In addition to conducting fair housing workshops, the project distributes "Fair Housing Tip of the Month" e-mail messages to over 4,500 individuals and organizations. (5) Government Benefits Advocacy - MHAS provides government benefits assistance to people with mental health disabilities, including providing advice about the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) application process, as well as preventing clients from losing their SSI benefits by assisting them with post-eligibility issues such as benefit terminations, overpayments, and disability reviews. (6) Special Education Advocacy - MHAS provides training to parents and assists low-income families in obtaining special education and other services their children need to achieve academic success. MHAS also provides individual advocacy including negotiation with school districts and other agencies and representation in Individualized Education Program (IEP) meetings, mediations and administrative hearings. (7) Transition Age Youth (TAY) Medical-Legal Partnership - MHAS operates a medical-legal partnership with multiple service providers across Los Angeles County. The partner organizations provide mental health care, housing assistance and other services to transition age youth with mental health disabilities who are chronically unhoused, and MHAS provides direct legal services involving housing, traffic and parking tickets, public benefits, expungements, and other issues to promote a happy and successful transition to adulthood. (8) Veterans Legal Services - To help address the ongoing crisis of veteran homelessness in Los Angeles County, MHAS partners with the Supportive Services for Veteran Families program operated by Mental Health America of Los Angeles (MHALA). Through this partnership, MHAS provides vital legal services to veterans to promote access to housing and long-term housing stability. MHAS attorneys represent MHALA's veteran members facing a range of legal issues, including veterans fighting eviction and those denied housing due to discrimination. In addition to direct representation, MHAS offers technical assistance to support MHALA's broader efforts to ensure that every veteran has a safe, stable place to call home. (9) Other legal services including direct assistance regarding legal issues affecting low-income adults and children with mental health disabilities; training and technical assistance to attorneys, mental health professionals, consumer and family member groups, and other advocates; impact litigation; and policy advocacy aimed at protecting and advancing the legal rights of people with mental health disabilities.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Legitimacy checks
Is it registered with the IRS? Passed.
Listed in the IRS master file of tax-exempt organizations as a 501(c)(3) charitable organization.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
Has the IRS revoked its tax-exempt status? Passed.
Not on the IRS automatic revocation list.
Source: Automatic revocation of exemption list, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
Are donations tax-deductible? Passed.
On the IRS list of organizations eligible to receive tax-deductible contributions.
Source: Publication 78 data: organizations eligible for tax-deductible contributions, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
Is it keeping up with its IRS filings? Passed.
Most recent return on file covers the year ending December 2025.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
How long has it been tax-exempt? Passed.
Recognized by the IRS since July 1979.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
Is it in good standing with state regulators? Passed.
Not on California's list of charities barred from soliciting. Other states are not yet checked.
Source: May Not Operate or Solicit for Charitable Purposes list, California Attorney General, Registry of Charities and Fundraisers, file dated October 21, 2026.
Ratings and checks are our reading of public records, using the published method. They are not a statement about anyone's honesty. If you work for this organization, you can send corrections or results, confirm you want gifts through Veridonate, or ask to be removed from giving.