OUr mission at Southeast Lousiana Legal Services is to achieve justice for low-income people in Louisiana by enforcing and defending their legal rights through civil legal aid, advocacy and community education. We are located at 1340 Poydras St, New Orleans, LA. The work that we do is providing legal aid to low-income people in the Southeast of Louisiana.
The goal of my interning here has been to help the organization build volunteer capacity, so we have the capacity to support our community more. Across our many offices, we only have so many law units, and also stipulations as to what work we can do regardless. As we bring more people on, it allows us to face those barriers in order to expand our reach. This relates to NCI’s mission because it allows me help support this organization in being a leader that the community can look to, in a state where we simply do not have the funding to support things such as the right to a state-appointed attorney. I am able to engage with the community and its current needs through this position.
I found this internship through CPS’ internship fair this past spring. I secured the position by interviewing with the volunteer coordinator and also the Pro Bono Unit managing attorney. I would encourage others to follow up with the internships they are looking at and working to find funding for they want to do instead of applying exclusively to paid positions.
My impressions have been good so far about the facility I work at and the community I have rooted myself in here. I have been working on coordinating court shadowing for my fellow undergraduates, working on events, trying to recruit elderly volunteers, and developing a diversity training curriculum for new hires. I have learned a lot about being able to take initiative as the main point person on a project. I have also learned a lot more about the substance of court proceedings- getting to see the court room’s movements.
I expect to continue learning in these areas, and hopefully get to know more about some of the particular units we have here, especially the Child in Need of Care Unit.