Name of Host Organization: Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles

City, State: Los Angeles, California

Issue area: Children/Youth, Public Benefits/Welfare Reform

Sponsor: Bingham McCutchen LLP

THE INSPIRATION

I graduated from a large, urban high school with a high dropout rate. It angered me then and now that so few of my peers finished high school and went on to college when so many of those who graduated from schools in the surrounding suburbs did. Why does where you grow up play such a role in where you go? The unfair answer to this plays out dramatically among former foster youth. Many end up homeless, in jail, or on welfare within a few years of leaving the system. I want to work on reducing barriers to opportunity for at-risk youth.

My project focuses on helping youth who age out of foster care in Los Angeles to connect with the services they need to transition successfully into adulthood. Although I focus on foster youth, I represent a variety of low-income young people on government benefits, school discipline and access to education issues.