A Year in Review - 2014

“During week two of the Enlace legal clinic at 2756 S. Harding Ave., the small waiting room was filled to capacity an hour before it even opened. Based on phone calls earlier in the day, Palafox estimated at least five more people would join the 10 clients already in line.” (Jamie Loo, Chicago Daily Law Bulletin)

On October 14, 2014, Beyond met with our very first community member, when inaugural partner Enlace opened the door to its legal clinic: the Enlace Beyond Legal Aid Legal Clinic. Nearly 10 years later, Beyond Legal Aid (Community Activism Law Alliance back in 2014) just supported new community partner CIWOC (Chicago Incarcerated Workers Organizing Committee) to launch its legal program: Beyond’s  29th across all of Illinois. Whether you have been here since the start, or are a new supporter, we could not have reached this significant milestone without you.

To commemorate this monumental decade, we are thrilled to announce the launch of our 10 Year Anniversary Campaign! Spanning from March to December of this year, each month we will highlight a year in Beyond’s history.

There’s no better way to kick off this campaign than by taking a trip down memory lane with OG community partner, Enlace Chicago. Here are some excerpts from an article in the Law Daily Bulletin by Jamie Loo about our launch:

“This is something that we have been wanting for years, it’s something the community needs,” said Jesus Palafox, an immigration organizer with Enlace. “People in the community have been asking for these services.”

 “I really appreciate that it’s here,” [Olga] Perez [one of the first community members at the clinic] said through a translator. “A lot of people need this service and they’re not aware of it.”

 “It’s been a very throw-myself-in-the-deep-end-and-hope-I-float, panic-inducing experience.” [Lam Ho, Beyond founder and Co-Director]

Be sure to also compare each month’s “Year in Review” graphic (below) to see how much we’ve grown.