Students worked with Philly Ceasefire to design and implement a mobile legal clinic for young adults involved in or affected by gun violence in Northern Philadelphia. Some of these young adults will be reentering the community after stints of incarceration; others will be law enforcement involved; and still others will be in groups at a high risk for interaction with the criminal legal system. Ceasefire’s foundational premise is that violence can be stopped by using methods that are more commonly associated with other facets of public health, such as detecting and interrupting problems before they become emergent; identifying and treating the highest risk individuals; and changing social norms. These are the same methods used by the most effective legal clinics – meeting people where they’re at; preventing solvable problems from becoming unmanageable catastrophes; and helping clients to feel empowered to help themselves.
Students involved in this project are working with Philadelphia Ceasefire to develop and implement a mobile legal clinic for young adults who are law enforcement affected. Students have surveyed ethe target client base to identify pertinent legal questions; researched relevant legal issues; created informational materials; and designed a system to deliver services to clients. Students plan to launch the legal clinic in 2022.