The world turned upside down

It’s not easy to write this blog post today.

But nothing feels easy today, right? We’re all worried.

How do we keep each other safe? What about the communities already targeted during the campaign? How do we preserve the rule of law and due process, the central components of our collective fight for justice?

Yesterday morning, I think we all woke up stunned. Here at OneJustice, we wept and hugged and raged. I think we went through 10 boxes of tissues.

And then today?

Well, today volunteer attorneys boarded the Justice Bus and headed out to an isolated community to provide free immigration services. Because that is what we do. We persevere. We fight for justice. We empower. We serve.

Now, make no mistake – our work is just beginning. And it won’t be easy:

The President Elect has stated that on his first day in office he will cancel the executive action that created the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival (DACA) program for young immigrants. The impact of these words was immediate – striking fear into the hearts of young immigrants in this country and changing the advice legal aid and volunteer attorneys must now provide.

And now we’ve learned that in late 2005, then-Representative Mike Pence co-authored a budget report calling for the complete elimination of federal funding for civil legal aid. So I think we know what to expect from this administration.

So the battle lines are being drawn. We can start to see the shape of the fights to come.

Now, more than ever, we need each other.

Our community – this brave, bold, fierce, committed justice community – is what brings me hope. What inspires us to move forward. Together we will rise up, stand up – and it matters.

OneJustice is all in. We are in this for you. For our clients. For our volunteers. For our democracy. For justice.

And today, more than ever, we need you. Our very system of civil justice needs you.

Your partnership and your financial support – right now – can make all the difference.

Together, we can do this. Thank you for your fierce commitment to preserving civil legal aid and justice for all.

In solidarity,

Julia R. Wilson
CEO

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Boo! from the OneJustice crew

Even hard core, super serious justice-seekers have to grab some downtime (and cupcakes) to celebrate one of our very favorite holidays! Today our staff crew gathered for a virtual statewide Halloween party and the highly competitive annual OneJustice costume contest.

And hey – don’t forget that YOU can also join our #costumes4justice contest – just post a Halloween costume selfie on social media using #costumes4justice, and 3 winners will receive a nifty Justice Bus water bottle!

The costume competition was intense today, and the tension was palpable as we counted the votes! Who would win first place? The mouse, business cat, or bunny? The witch or scarecrow? Waldo or Boba Fett? And should the Los Angeles office get extra points for coordinating their Pokemon Go costumes? And what should we do about the intensity with which CEO Julia Wilson claims to be able to recite the lyrics of every song in Hamilton: A Musical?

And when the votes were counted, the winners were . . (drum roll please……)

First place San Francisco: Charlotte’s Webb (aka Claudia Pepe, Community Relations Program Associate who supports both the Justice Bus and Rural Justice Collaborative)

First Place Los Angeles: Togepi from Pokemon Go (aka Ariella Morrison, Staff Attorney*, who runs the IMPACT LA Project and also works to coordinate pro bono for immigrants seeking to become US citizens)

Second Place Overall: Raggedy Ann (aka Katie Pluyment, Healthy Nonprofits Program Associate, who is busy these days supporting both the Executive Fellowship and Public Interest/Public Sector Career Day) and

Third Place Overall: Conehead (aka Lyla Bugara, Pro Bono Justice Program Associate, who is hard at work planning the two California Pro Bono Regional Meetings in early 2017)

We hope you’ll enjoy our annual photo montage below, and from all of us at OneJustice, we wish you the most Spooktacular Halloween ever!

* Admitted to practice in Michigan, not admitted in California.