Carly Loughran

The Project

Carly (she/her/hers) will provide emergency legal care by addressing the unmet civil legal needs of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) survivors of intentional violence on Chicago’s South Side.

Chicago has seen a 139% increase in monthly homicides in the last two years. Chicago recorded more than 1,000 homicides in 2021, and 90% of those impacted by gun violence were BIPOC. Nationwide, Black men are fourteen times more likely than White men to be shot to death. BIPOC men are nationally underserved by legal service providers who could supply a path from justice involvement to economic stability. Individuals in Chicago who received emergency financial assistance were 51% less likely to be arrested for a violent crime. This decline in crime is causally connected to greater housing and economic stability.

Fellowship Plans

During her fellowship, Carly will establish a new point of access for civil legal services in Chicago through one of the country’s first medical-legal partnerships with a hospital-based violence intervention program (HVIP). Carly will provide trauma-informed legal advocacy in the emergency department alongside the credible messengers and community leaders at UChicago Medicine’s HVIP. Services will primarily focus on public benefits and will include wraparound civil legal support. Carly will also train medical staff on how to screen for civil legal needs to demystify the legal process for both providers and patients.