Client Focus: Bria

For the first few years of Bria’s life, her grandmother took care of her. Bria’s mom was a drug addict, and Bria was born with cocaine in her system. Bria’s mother died when she was very young, and her grandmother passed when she was just 5 years old. That’s when she started bouncing around from house to house, staying with different relatives. At one place, a family member’s boyfriend would beat Bria. At another, her uncle would sexually abuse her when her aunt wasn’t home. Bria tried to run away. She spent time in Juvenile hall. She stayed in group homes. Eventually group home staff told Bria she was emancipated. Without any stability or support for years, she ended up homeless. Now, only 26 years old, Bria has bipolar disorder and complex post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of her troubled past. Living in a shelter, Bria still does her best to make ends meet. She tries to find jobs and she works hard to keep them, though it isn’t always successful. Luckily, the Legal Council connected with Bria, and worked to improve her chances of getting SSDI. Eventually, she won! After a literal lifetime of instability, Bria now knows every month she will receive, in the form of income, support and certainty, for the first time in her life, thanks to the Legal Council.