Client Stories
Learn more about the children, families, and adults that receive expert legal care at Legal Council.
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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 and her brothers were born with cocaine in their systems.
Client Focus: Nicolas
When Nicolas came to the United States as a young boy, he was seeking political asylum, leaving a country that was dangerous for him to live in. He and his father got along fine in the United States. However, when Nicolas turned 19, he aged out of All Kids and was left uninsured. Even worse,…
Client Focus: Early Intervention
At age 2, Rashaan was not talking at the level of most children his age. Fortunately, his doctor noticed this delay, diagnosed autism, and ensured that he would receive Early Intervention (EI) speech therapy. EI ends at age 3, but federal law mandates that children in EI be evaluated to transition smoothly into special education…
Client Focus: Janae and William
When Janae gave birth to William, things didn’t go exactly as planned. William was born premature and needed a hernia surgery, but for some reason, Janae could not get him a medical card to pay for the hospital bills. She was also having trouble getting other public benefits to supplement her income. Through the help…
Client Focus: Jane
Being a 12 year old girl isn’t always easy. For Jane, being 12 is more complicated than most. When she suffered from a mental health crisis in the middle of the school year, Jane was struggling not only with her health but with bullying at her school. Any child would find it hard to cope…
Client Focus: Hatim
Hatim, an HIV-positive man with limited English skills, first came to AIDS Legal Council after he sustained a devastating injury at his job as a butcher, and was unable to continue working. Hatim’s dominant hand had been caught in a meat grinder; as a result, he lost fingers and suffered extensive bone and nerve damage…
Client Focus: Shaneea
A young mother with a 4-month-old baby, Shaneea had been diagnosed with schizophrenia and marijuana abuse when her treating psychiatrist at an outreach partner, Fantus Clinic, referred her to the Homeless Project of the Legal Council for Health Justice. Like many of our clients, Shaneea suffered severe neglect and abuse as a young child, which…
Our New Hero
We’re adding a new member to the AIDS Legal Council’s Honor Roll of Really Groovy Attorneys We Love a Whole Bunch. Today we’re singing the praises of Ian Ackerman, an attorney in the corporate practice group of Kirkland & Ellis (a law firm we’ve adored for a heck of a long time). I’m sure you…
Pooped Paralegals
Don’t be surprised if you hear snoring coming from the offices of two of the Council’s hardest working paralegals, Kate Miller and Dale Green. They’ve each had two Social Security hearings in the past week — and Kate has another one scheduled for next week. If you’ve ever had to represent someone at a Social…
Link Card Follies
The best thing about the Illinois Department of Human Services is its highly developed sense of farce. Consider Jeff’s story. Recently Jeff went to his local IDHS office and applied for Food Stamps (also known as a Link Card … also known as SNAP … and no, that’s not really the farcical part of our…