Skip to main content

Returning to the HAC: A New Adventure

During both semesters of my 3L year, I was a student attorney at the Health Advocacy Clinic in Aurora and I have to say that being at the HAC was one of the best parts of law school because I could finally put into practice everything I had learned. I had my own clients and everything! My guided tour of Hesed House, the second largest homeless shelter in Illinois, was also the first time I had ever stepped foot inside a homeless shelter. Parts of my experience at the HAC were heart-wrenching, but upon later reflection (which is critical to the clinical experience), I found that each day was satisfying in its own right.

So when I learned that an AmeriCorps VISTA position opened up at the HAC, I leapt at the chance. The period between finishing studying for the bar exam and landing your first job is beyond stressful even though you suddenly have tons of time on your hands. The fact that I knew I’d be returning to the HAC to work in a community I had become familiar with helped the transition quite a bit.

Being a VISTA here will certainly pose some interesting challenges because I am no longer working directly with clients, but have a more behind-the-scenes role. Also, a VISTA’s pay is purposely limited to be at or near the poverty line. This will allow me to better understand and appreciate the work that the HAC does for its homeless clients. How better to understand your client’s financial instability than to be in a similar position? Granted, I still have my own apartment to come home to every night, which is a stark difference between me and the clients the HAC serves, but the financial limitations of being a VISTA will undoubtedly further teach me humility, a value that is key to a legal career in public service.

I am one week into my year of service and am already impressed by how much work needs to be done so the law students can have a beneficial clinic experience and to increase the capacity of the clinic, which is one of my main focuses. I continue to learn something new every day and the environment here provides tons of opportunity to further hone my community outreach, interviewing, and public relations skills.

I am beyond thrilled to be back at the HAC where, just like when I was a student attorney here, I can leave here knowing that the work being done by not just the HAC, but the Hesed House and Aunt Martha’s Health Care staff, is invaluable and extremely important to the low-income and homeless residents of Kane County.

 

Heather Skrip


Class of 2016

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Expungements and Sealings

On February 19 th , 2016, a fellow student and I gave a presentation to Aunt Martha’s about an expansion of the NIU Health Advocacy Clinic into an area of the law we have never ventured before:  criminal expungements and sealings. It appeared everyone who was working that day at Aunt Martha’s HOC or NIU Health Advocacy Clinic was in attendance, including Professor Boraca and Dr. Sun. Because Professor Boraca, my fellow student partner, and I had all talked about how to best format the PowerPoint presentation, we began with a case example of “Rob,” a person whose life is difficult because he has a 2010 criminal conviction of destruction of property on his record. Rob is a 26 year-old man living at Hesed House’s Transitional Living Community who has saved up enough money for a down payment on an apartment. Because of his criminal record, no one wants to rent to him. Likewise, Rob has also been looking for work but because of his criminal record, no one wants to hire him. Because of all t...
Post a Comment
Read more
It was Friday morning and I was waiting for a client to come fill out her Power of Attorney (POA) for Health Care. I was really excited for this because I had not had the opportunity to do an initial client interview yet, and this would be my first time assisting a client with completing a POA. I was also grateful I was able to have the experience of doing one, since POA Day was Wednesday, and I am scheduled Fridays at the clinic. Going into the situation I was very nervous. I had never done a POA before and I reviewed the POA documents, but actually doing interviews is always different than preparing for them. I definitely have seen that play out a lot this semester. You can prepare all you want for client interactions, but often they go nothing like you planned. Going into this experience I expected the client to have a lot of questions. This document is for long- term planning, and the population we work with at the Health Advocacy Clinic often does not have a lot of long-term plans...
Post a Comment
Read more

Finding Common Ground

About a week ago, our team toured the Hesed House facilities a second time and learned more about the transitional living portion of the shelter. Brightly painted doors leading to dormitory style rooms line both sides of a long hallway, and furniture sits in the hallway waiting for a thorough cleaning. Our guide explained that this was a very good sign, because it meant that someone had moved out and transitioned to independence. The communal kitchen is large and clean. As we passed through, a young mother was feeding her sons breakfast; they were dressed in superhero pajamas and seemed to be thoroughly enjoying their cereal. Our guide then showed us the communal living space, which included a space for watching television, two computers, and several dining tables. Residents must check out the remotes in order to watch television. There is also a children’s playroom that is used for structured children’s programs and can be reserved by parents for private family time. I went into this ...
Post a Comment
Read more