Young Lawyers at Pathfinders Jan. 27 in Milwaukee, preparing to volunteer to help homeless youth. Back row, from left: Beth Lauck, Rachel Lux, Rachel Craig, Joelle Espinosa, Benjamin Roovers, Molly Jasmer, Margaret Heitkamp, and Kori Ashley. Front row, from left: Elise Libbey and Emily Stedman.
April 6, 2016 – On any given night in Milwaukee, more than 567 youth under age 25 are homeless, according to a 2015 Point-In-Time survey by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and Milwaukee Continuum of Care.
And many of them are in need of legal services – in criminal matters, tickets and warrants, expungement, social benefits, landlord/tenant issues – and many also have general questions about the legal system.
To address this need, the State Bar of Wisconsin’s Young Lawyers Division (YLD) Public Outreach Committee hosted a new pilot program to provide legal services to homeless youth by operating legal clinics each Wednesday in February 2016 at a youth drop-in center in Milwaukee.
An Extremely Underserved Population
According to the ABA YLD, there are more than 1.7 million homeless youth in the United States.
Project Street Youth is an American Bar Association YLD initiative that offers an opportunity for Wisconsin’s YLD lawyers to volunteer. The project not only provided meaningful assistance to this often-overlooked population, but it was also a rewarding and powerful way for young attorneys to use their legal expertise to give back.
Wisconsin’s YLD kicked off the program in January with a night of outreach at Pathfinders, a drop-in center providing resources to run-away and homeless youth in Milwaukee. YLD volunteers helped with the Point-in-Time Count – a HUD-mandated survey that counts the homeless population. The YLD also sponsored dinner that evening for all the youth coming through Pathfinders – a local Milwaukee chef, Michael Solovey, prepared a meal enjoyed by more than 40 youth.
Astounding Volunteer Response
The inaugural Project Street Youth generated interest from many attorneys, with more than 30 YLD attorneys committing to volunteer at least 160 hours in order to help the youth.
Elise Libbey (Marquette 2014) is a Judicial Law Clerk to U.S. Magistrate Judge David E. Jones, Eastern District of Wisconsin. She is on the board of the State Bar's Young Lawyers Division, and organized Project Street Youth as chair of the YLD’s public outreach committee. She is also on the board of the Milwaukee Young Lawyers Association.
On each Wednesday, about nine attorneys volunteered at the clinics. In total, the volunteers assisted 18 homeless youth. While we had hoped more youth would come to our clinics, the volunteer lawyers were able to devote more time to each individual – some for more than two hours. The representatives of Pathfinders said the turnout was good from their perspective, and expected it would continue to increase as the clinics became more established.
While the project assisted an underserved population, it also provided the volunteer attorneys with additional perspective. “Participating in Project Street Youth allowed me to use my skills to help individuals who hadn’t had many positive interactions with the legal community,” said attorney Sarah Haas of Melnick & Melnick, S.C., Mequon. “I was thankful for the opportunity to provide guidance to a community member who wanted advice on how to move forward in the face of extreme adversity.”
A Successful Supply Drive
In addition to holding the legal clinics, the YLD held supply drives and donated hygiene items to Pathfinders. All volunteer attorneys donated their mileage reimbursement in order to allow the YLD to purchase supplies for the youth. The mock trial team from Whitefish Bay High School also held a supply drive and partnered with the YLD to collect and donate items to the youth. The team was honored with the Spirit of Mock Trial Award during the High School Mock Trial tournament weekend on March 13-14 in Madison.
Finally, I would like to extend special thanks to the following individuals who helped make Project Street Youth a success:
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Atty. Kori Ashley, Atty. Matthew Bauer, Atty. Colleen Boyle, Atty. Rachel Craig, Atty. Joelle Espinosa, Atty. Christopher Flowers, Atty. Renae Flowers, Atty. Trisha Fritz, Atty. Sarah Haas, Atty. Margaret Heitkamp, Atty. Jane Howard, Atty. Jerilyn Jacobs, Atty. Molly Jasmer, Atty. Ruthann Koch, Atty. Beth Lauck, Atty. Kevin Layde, Atty. Robin Lehninger, Atty. Trevor Lippman, Atty. Rachel Lux, Atty. Shauna Manion, Atty. Colin McGinn, Atty. Victoria Montano, Atty. Richard Orton, Atty. Benjamin Roovers, Atty. Linda Saafir, Atty. Elizabeth Schweiger, Atty. Emily Stedman, Atty. Leah Thomas, Atty. Nhu Tran, and Atty. Nicole Willette, for volunteering their time and expertise.
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Katie Hamm and all the staff at Pathfinders, for helping make the project possible.
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Michael Solovey and Katie Romanesko, for making the dinner and dessert for the YLD outreach event.
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Atty. Emily Stedman, for organizing a supply drive at the Federal Courthouse in Milwaukee.
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Atty. Scott Campbell, high school sophomore Julia Campbell, and the Whitefish Bay High School Mock Trial Team, for organizing a supply drive.
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The staff of the State Bar of Wisconsin for their help in coordinating and promoting the event.
All in all, Project Street Youth provided needed help to an underserved population and made a difference in the lives of the youth and in the community. The YLD is proud to have piloted this project in Milwaukee and to have touched the lives of the homeless youth there. Moving forward, the YLD looks forward to continuing our partnership with Pathfinders and to continuing our work helping homeless youth in Milwaukee through Project Street Youth.
