HOPEFUL

Jacob Stipe
Mid-Penn Legal Services
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

            Many believe that poverty is an inevitable attribute of society.  Therefore, taking on the cause to fight poverty would be foolish and hopeless.  I have been told numerous times that once I get older, I will find that the causes I have fought have been too idealistic, too naive, and just too hopeful.  Once I get older I will just have to do the best I can do to help myself and those around me.  But what happens when your best is not enough?  What happens when you can’t support yourself and those around you?  Many people would give up on themselves and stop hoping for a better future.

            My time at Mid-Penn Legal Services showed me what could happen if more people took up the cause of fighting poverty.  With only four attorneys, Mid-Penn in Harrisburg took on hundreds of cases for people who are still holding on to that last strand of hope.  When people call in for help, they are looking to have the “system” work for them for a change.  However, most of these people would not receive the legal representation or advice that they are seeking.  Therefore most of them will find that the system did them wrong and cease to hope for a better tomorrow.

            For the few that do get the result favorable to them, I hope they will find a new faith in the system, the courts, and in the American Dream.  I wonder what would happen if more students would engage in the struggle to be an advocate for those who find themselves impoverished.  I believe that we would see more people becoming hopeful for future and ready to do the best they can for themselves and those around them.  But then I realize that I may be acting too idealistic, too naive, and too hopeful; and I get back to my work.  My time at Mid-Penn has been wonderful and I believe that I have found a new direction and purpose in my own life, which will be to advocate for those people who are impoverished.