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Shirelon

I See Me in the Kids

It took one person — one advocate — who truly heard me to change the trajectory of my life.

I was in the CLC file room earlier this year when it hit me: I was once a file…in a room…just like this. Wow.
 
It had taken me awhile to make that connection, which seems obvious now.
 
At 12 years old, I ran away to Covenant House as a means to get out of a bad situation. Fortunately, they linked me with an agency that could help.

I’ll never forget the first attorney for the child I met. He wore a gray suit and round glasses and when he crossed his legs I caught a glimpse of his cowboy boots. 
 
“What is it that you want,” he asked. My reply was simple: I wanted to go with my Nana.
 
To my surprise he said, “we’re going to do our best to make that happen.” And guess what? He did.

Graduate

Breaking the cycle

It took one person — one advocate — who truly heard me to change the trajectory of my life. My grandmother gained custody and was able to access the financial means to support me.

I became the first person in my family to graduate from college. And when I was looking for a chance to give back to my community, I found The Children’s Law Center. I intended to volunteer, but a client services position was open and here I am four years later.

Sometimes a lawyer will return from court and tell the story of one of our child clients. It’s more than a story to me. It’s real life. A place like CLC gave me a voice years ago.

At CLC we enable kids to be a part of the process that’s designed to help them. Nothing is more powerful than that.

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*The children illustrated are not CLC clients and client's name have been changed to maintain the privacy of the parties.


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