Often legal advocacy it the only recourse remaining for low-income individuals to secure some of the basic necessities of life which have been illegally or inappropriately denied such as freedom from abuse, access to permanent or emergency shelter, subsistence income or earned wages. Since its founding in 1900, GBLS has been committed to providing free legal assistance to low-income families and individuals. Approximately 75% of GBLS' clients are women and 25% are elders. In order to remain true to its mission of providing a full range of advocacy options to all classes of low-income people, in 1996 GBLS withdrew as a recipient of federal Legal Services Corporation funding due to new Congressional restriction on serving immigrants and prohibiting certain types of representation.