Session 7
The Unique Ways Legal Professionals Can Prevent Youth Homelessness
Many people would not immediately think about lawyers, but their role in preventing youth homelessness is critical.
When you think of preventing youth homelessness, what typically comes to mind?
Many people would not immediately think about lawyers or other legal professionals, yet their role in supporting youth at risk of homelessness is often critical.
To highlight this often overlooked aspect of prevention, September’s Prevention Matters! panel explored the unique role that lawyers can play in preventing youth homelessness. We were joined by brilliant professionals from the American Bar Association, Texas Appleseed and Justice for Children and Youth to learn how this work looks in practice. Lydian Smith also joined us to share her perspective as a youth with lived experience.
(In a hurry? Check out our RECAP BLOG for a summary!)
Your voice is needed! To get involved with the ongoing survey discussed in this panel about legal services across the globe, please check out THIS BLOG.
Learn more about our host and panelists below!
HOST
AMANDA BUCHNEA is the Strategy, Policy and Innovation Specialist. In her role, Amanda works across the Canadian Observatory on Homelessness, Making the Shift Inc., and A Way Home Canada and partners domestically and abroad to advance key research, knowledge mobilization, and government relations activities. She is also a PhD Candidate at the University of Guelph in their interdisciplinary program, Social Practice and Transformational Change. Her doctoral project examines community homelessness planning practices in Canada.
She has worked for seven years in the field of youth homelessness prevention policy advocacy and homelessness systems planning. Over the years, Amanda has worked on numerous projects with partners in Canada and internationally, including the Systems Planning Collective and the UN Geneva Charter Centres of Excellence.
PANELISTS
KELLY RUSSO is the Director and Chief Counsel of the American Bar Association Commission on Homelessness & Poverty in Washington, DC. She coordinates policy development and programming related to the legal rights and needs of people experiencing homelessness and poverty, and she collaborates with national, state and local advocacy groups, associations, and government agencies to provide technical assistance and address issues related to homelessness and poverty.
She leads the ABA Homeless Youth Legal Network, a national network that provides information and fosters collaboration to help attorneys and providers at the state and local levels address gaps in legal services for homeless youth.
GABRIELLA MCDONALD is the Deputy Director at Texas Appleseed. She helps set Texas Appleseed’s strategic direction and coordinates their cross-programmatic teams and projects. She is a member of the American Bar Association’s (ABA) Section of Litigation’s Children’s Rights Litigation Committee and a special advisor to the ABA Commission on Homelessness & Poverty.
Gabriella received her law degree and a master’s in Sports Management from the University of Michigan, and undergraduate degrees in Psychology and Government from the University of Texas at Austin.
CLAIRE MILLGATE as the Street Youth Legal Services (SYLS) lawyer at Justice for Children and Youth. She provides advice and representation to youth aged 16 to 25 years old who are homeless or unstably housed. Each week she visits shelters in and around Toronto, providing advice and legal assistance to vulnerable young people. She also provides workshops to youth and engages broadly with sector stakeholders to address youth homelessness and justice issues.
Claire has experience in all areas of youth law, including youth criminal justice, child protection, education, human rights, mental health and immigration. Prior to joining JFCY, Claire was an associate at a family law firm, where her work focused on the intersection of family and Indigenous law in child protection matters. Claire was called to the bar in both Ontario and her home jurisdiction of New South Wales, Australia in 2015.
This session is part of our Making the Shift collective body of work on youth homelessness.
The Toronto Centre of Excellence (TCE) on Youth Homelessness Prevention at York University is a UN Geneva Charter Centre at York University led in partnership between the Canadian Observatory on Homelessness, A Way Home Canada and our Making the Shift Youth Homelessness Innovation Lab.
