November 28, 2017
We hope you had a lovely Thanksgiving last week, surrounded by those you love and hopefully still not drowsy from all that turkey! In this time of giving thanks, it’s hard to overstate how many things we at OneJustice have to be grateful for. Our work is supported by so many different people and organizations – from our Board members, who help give OneJustice a sense of direction; to our generous donors, whose financial contributions ensure services for those in need; to our community partner organizations, who invite us into their fight for equality and justice.
We are so thankful – and we wanted to extend our deepest gratitude to you!
As a result, today OneJustice is celebrating #ThanksGivingTuesday (rather than #GivingTuesday). Because our work involves so many others, we thought it would be a good idea to ask some of our staff members here at OneJustice what part of the OneJustice network they are most thankful for. Their responses are below – we hope you’ll enjoy them for #ThanksGivingTuesday!
Dania is one of the Program Associates with the Pro Bono Justice team, and she works with our Staff Attorneys to help organize and plan clinics. As a result, Dania has had the opportunity to interact with many of the clients directly served in our clinics. She writes: “The legal system can be a large maze for anyone. Without the help of a legal expert or a couple, like in the case of a client we saw in September, it can be quite a daunting process to fill out paperwork that falls within two areas of law. We hold free legal clinics in Stockton regularly and we saw a client who told us that his past drug abuse problem affected access to a better quality of life. He hoped to file a naturalization application at that clinic in September but was advised to attend our record change clinic in October to pursue record change remedies to have a more successful naturalization application. When sharing his life story with the volunteer attorneys and me, he told us what it took to turn his life around, the consequences of his actions, and in that moment I realized how stories like these need to be told in order to fix our broken legal and healthcare system.”
As a Staff Attorney with the Healthy Nonprofits Program, Gillian works directly with our Executive Fellows. The Fellows Program, which helps to train legal services nonprofit leaders, has generated a strong legacy of alumni. Gillian describes:“I’m grateful for the network of Executive Fellows alumni that OneJustice has created. Knowing that many of our nonprofit leaders have thought critically about the stability and longevity of their organizations gives me hope for the future of our sector and our ability to continue bringing high quality legal services to low income Californians.“
Fabiola also works as a Program Associate with the Pro Bono Justice team. Having worked directly with clients, she is grateful for their willingness to share their stories with her and members of the OneJustice team. Fabiola shares her experience from a recent clinic: “I listened as the client recounted their story – from juvenile hall to prison to the lack of opportunities for reintegration. And, in that powerful moment of openness, I shared my brother’s story too – a story of incarceration from age seventeen. Street Sheet’s November edition on mass incarceration states that over the past 30 years there has been a 500 percent increase in incarceration, amounting to 2.4 million humans with no freedom in the U.S. Now, as we enter the season of giving thanks, I am thankful for narratives having the power to build bridges between different walks of life, and in my ability to serve as a bridge. In finding common ground, my struggle and their struggle becomes one struggle – our struggle, unified towards equality and justice.”
Mai, one of our awesome Staff Attorneys on the Pro Bono Justice team, organizes Justice Bus trips in Southern California. It takes a lot to make these clinics happen, and Mai notes that, among other, she is grateful for the Justice Bus volunteers. She describes, “I am grateful for our Justice Bus volunteers who take time out of their busy schedules to come together to bring much needed legal assistance to low-income Californians. They are able to combine their skills, resources and enthusiasm to make a positive impact on many clinic participant’s lives. Their dedication is apparent in the quality and depth of services we are able to provide through the Justice Bus and from the gracious feedback we get from clinic participants. I am thankful for the opportunity to work with such a diverse range of volunteers, from pro bono attorneys, law students, and legal services attorneys to librarians, teachers, social service providers, and caring community members — all of whom make it possible for OneJustice to carry out our mission to increase access to justice to low-income Californians as far north as Eureka and far south as El Centro.”
Thank YOU for being their in the trenches when help is needed most. You’re needed now more than ever.