The Iowa West Foundation recently awarded Iowa Legal Aid’s Youth Link Project with a $28,000 grant.
Cat Nelson is a Staff Attorney at Iowa Legal Aid’s Southwest Iowa Regional Office in Council Bluffs.
She says the mission of the Youth Link Project is to empower young people with the knowledge, tools and confidence they need to be successful adults and productive members of the community.
Nelson says the Youth Link Project team goes into schools to work with kids.
She says they give at-risk youth comprehensive legal education seminars that focus on things these young people are likely to face such as a renting their first apartment or buying their first car.
"We are trying the more preventative loss approach where we are trying to educate these young adults, people as they’re aging out of foster care, out of school. Trying to give them the education, give them the knowledge, and give them the skills so they understand the law in a positive way. The law not only takes away my rights but it also gives me rights.”
Nelson says staff meet one-on-one with students to address any potential legal problems they have as well as show them how to advocate for themselves.
More information on the Youth Link Project is available at IowaLegalAid.org.