Baker McKenzie has partnered with The Walt Disney Company and nonprofit child advocacy organization Florida’s Children First in a joint pro bono effort to create the Florida Homeless Youth Handbook, an online and print resource for youth experiencing homelessness, or transitioning to adulthood without parental support. Florida will be the sixth state in the US to receive this guide which is also available in print form in schools, libraries, shelters and public agencies throughout Florida.
The handbook was designed to help empower youth experiencing homelessness in Florida with state-specific guidance in a youth-friendly, easy to understand layout. The guide is also meant to be used by volunteer lawyers in Florida who provide legal assistance to homeless youth, as well as a tool for other professionals or lay people who work with or want to help a child.
“On any given night, 7,000 young people in Florida are homeless, and they face significant legal barriers preventing them from getting the support they need,” said Christina Supdeas, Executive Director of Florida’s Children First. “We are very grateful for this new resource, which will be an essential guide for young people looking for answers to their legal problems, and for the adults across the state who are dedicated to helping them.”
A team of lawyers and staff spent hundreds of hours researching, writing and editing the handbook, which covers topics such as education, healthcare, housing, parenting, criminal justice, social assistance and consumer building personal credit. The guide will debut at the launch event on April 13 at Disney’s Contemporary Resort in Orlando.
Hilarie Bass, American Bar Association President, will serve as the guest of honor and keynote speaker at the event. The handbook supports Bass’ Legal Needs of Homeless Youth Initiative, which trains volunteer lawyers to provide legal assistance to homeless youth and matches lawyers throughout the US with shelters to provide free legal assistance.
Baker McKenzie previously partnered with other clients and nonprofits to produce similar handbooks for homeless youth in five other states – Texas, Washington, Minnesota, Illinois and New York – all of which are available at www.HomelessYouth.org. Digital agency One North recently redesigned the website as a pro bono project, making the handbooks even easier to access and search from a mobile device or desktop.
“The Homeless Youth Handbook project is an excellent example of how collaboration among in-house counsel, non-profits and law firms can exponentially increase assistance to those in need,” said Robert Moore, Managing Partner of Baker McKenzie’s Miami Office. “Through partnerships like this, we are able to provide hundreds of thousands of children in the US, and their advocates, with clear guidance on young people’s legal rights. Thank you to the talented teams at Disney and Florida’s Children First for their collaboration with Baker McKenzie on this important project.”
