Feel Good Friday - Legal Services for Children

A friend of mine sits on the Board of Directors for the organization Legal Services for Children. When I learned more about their work, I decided they were a perfect candidate for Feel Good Friday.

Established in 1975 and based in the San Francisco Bay Area, the mission of Legal Services for Children (LSC) is to provide "free representation to children and youth who require legal assistance to stabilize their lives and realize their full potential."

They take a client-oriented, holistic approach that uses both legal advocacy and social work services to help children and youth (up to 21 years old) in three major areas:

• Safety and stability at home - assistance with the guardianship process and representing children in foster care cases
• Success in school - help with enrollments for students that are homeless, undocumented or in foster care; representation at expulsion hearings; and assistance filing complaints
• Freedom from deportation and detention - free legal screenings and advice about legal options, as well as representation in immigration cases

The impact of LSC is impressive. In 2017 they served 1,443 youth in 25 different languages and held 100 outreach and training community events. Victories included helping their clients secure permanent residence, asylum, employment authorization and legal guardianship as well as getting deportation proceedings terminated and school expulsions cancelled. You can read more metrics and watch stories about individual clients here.

If you're an attorney who wants to help and has time to volunteer, you can apply to become an LSC Pro Bono Attorney. You'll receive training, support and access to an online resource library. The rest of us can make a donation and show our support on social media by liking the Legal Services for Children Facebook page.