A Voice for Those Without Hope
Filled with hope for the future,
a woman and her small children excitedly looked around their new home. The
mother was elated; through this lease-purchase arrangement, she would be
able to fulfill her life-long dream of achieving homeownership. But little
did the new residents of the home know that their dream would soon become a
nightmare. One week after she moved in, the woman became aware that a pipe
in the basement had broken, spewing sewage into her basement. Thus began
the three-year long ordeal in which the agency from which she
lease-purchased the home, failed to permanently fix the pipe. As a result
of the agencys negligent and reckless behavior, the mother and her children
endured sewer bug bites and the noxious stench of sewage waste. They
suffered from headaches, stress and other physical and emotional injuries.
Finally, they were constructively evicted from their home. The woman and
her children suffered in silence, unable to voice their problems to a
listening legal ear. With nowhere else to turn, they came to Community
Impact Legal Services for help.
The opportunity to assist in
providing legal aid to those who otherwise could not afford it has been the
most fulfilling aspect of my summer internship experience. The
intersectionalities between race, gender and socioeconomic status leave many
minorities, women and children without any support systems, in particular
legal aid. Countless people within these groups are victimized because the
perpetrators believe that they can harm them without receiving any
comeuppance. Thus, the pattern of victimization and lack of legal advocacy
to right these wrongs perpetuates a vicious cycle. I am deeply thrilled to
have been a part of an organization that seeks to break these deleterious
cycles. Due to the availability of organizations that focus on the plight
of marginalized peoples, those who have been maligned and silenced in the
legal sphere are beginning to have the opportunity to be heard. The client
who experienced sewage spillage into her home suffered in legal silence for
three years, but Community Impact Legal Services has been able to give voice
to her suffering and demand a just and adequate remedy.
The woman realized that all was
not settled. It was still unclear whether or not the agency from which she
lease-purchased her home would agree to the settlement proposal, or whether
Community Impact Legal Services would be forced to engage in litigation on
her behalf. Yet, the woman smiled, because, finally someone had heard her
silent cries, and had reached out to help.
O.Kemi Laniya
Community Impact Legal Services
Coatesville, PA
