I'm going on 8 years with the ABA Commission on Homelessness and Poverty, where I work to advocate on behalf of individuals, children and families experiencing homelessness and poverty. Part of that work involves ensuring that youth experiencing homelessness or housing instability have what they need to thrive in school, work, and life.

Through our Homeless Youth Legal Network, we connect lawyers with youth to break down legal barriers (like access to identification, education, health, employment and more) that prevent youth from accessing many day-to-day necessities. The Commission hosts community roundtables across the country, bringing together lawyers, youth advocates, housing and other service providers, educators and more to discuss legal issues and needs locally and ways in which lawyers can help meet those needs. Sometimes this involves state or local level policy change.

This month, we just published a new resource on Model State Statutes for Youth and Young Adults. This is a tool that local and state advocates can use to draft new or amend existing legislation to best support youth. It's a free resource and we encourage you to share it (it's linked on our website).

Now that the resource is published, the real work begins. We are fundraising to support our ability to implement and advocate at the community level across the country through community roundtables - ensuring that we are getting the publication in the hands of advocates everywhere and protecting the rights of all youth.

My work is 90% funded by generous donations and this once-yearly fundraising campaign allows us to do this important work.

My personal goal is to raise $2,000. I ask for your support - big or small!