IMCL's Quarterly Newsletter Be Heard! | Inner Melbourne Community Legal

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In the first edition of our quarterly 'Be heard!' newsletter for 2021, we continue to bring our 2018- 2021 Plan of Action to life with stories about how our work contributes to:

Below, we shine a spotlight on IMCL's work with young people and share with you our priorities for the year ahead.

THE VOICES OF OUR CLIENTS

'If there wasn't a lawyer at school, things probably wouldn't have turned out as they have. I probably wouldn't have reached out and wouldn't know where to go.' - Madison, client

Facing her first criminal charges at just 17, Madison was at a crossroads.

A criminal conviction could hang over her head and negatively impact her for the rest of her life, while early intervention and a second chance could provide her with the right support to engage with her future and avoid re-offending.

Learn more about Madison's story and how IMCL's Youth Outreach Lawyer program at her school intervened early to help her avoid a criminal conviction.

OUR PEOPLE

People use labels like "disadvantaged" and "vulnerable", but they're just great people. It's nice to play a tiny role in their lives and when you find that you can build trust with them - it's gold.' - Libby, Youth Outreach Lawyer

Since her first job as a criminal lawyer, Libby has always been passionate about working with children and young people like Madison.

'I had read about school lawyer programs and I thought "that would be my ultimate job - that's what I want to be doing.'

She just had to wait for the right opportunity to come along.

Read more about Libby's passion for working with young people and her pathway to becoming IMCL's inaugural Youth Outreach Lawyer on our website.

Young People and Law Reform

By integrating into school communities and providing direct legal assistance to students, Libby has been able to identify systemic issues in how the legal system treats children and young people.

It became clear during COVID-19 that children and young people were receiving a high number of COVID-19 fines and were being inappropriately processed and pursued without their personal circumstances being taken into account.

Learn more about how Libby has helped lead advocacy to Fines Victoria to make sure that young people aren't unfairly dragged into the criminal justice system.

The Year Ahead

As we emerge from what was a relentlessly challenging year for our community, we have been reflecting on the lessons learnt in 2020 and planning ahead to put our best foot forward in 2021.

Read our newsletters and follow us on social media to stay up-to-date on our key priorities for the year, including:

reconnecting with our local community to rebuild wellbeing, while undertaking a fresh legal needs analysis to ensure we're in the right position to meet demand
working with our community and partnering organisations to respond to the Victorian Ombudsman's report into the public housing lockdowns
continuing to pilot new ways to improve access to legal help for people experiencing mental health crises during the final implementation phase of our PACER project, aligned with the findings of the Royal Commission into Victoria's Mental Health System.

Stay tuned for our next quarterly instalment!

You are receiving this email because you are connected to the work of Inner Melbourne Community Legal (formerly North Melbourne Legal Service) as an industry colleague, partner organisation, donor, general supporter.

Our mailing address is:
Inner Melbourne Community Legal Centre
2/508 Queensberry St
North Melbourne, Victoria 3051
Australia

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Inner Melbourne Community Legal acknowledges the traditional owners of the land on which we work, the Boon wurrung and Wurundjeri peoples of the Kulin nation. We recognise that sovereignty was never ceded and pay our respects to their cultures and Elders past and present. This always was and always will be Aboriginal Land.

Everyone is welcome at Inner Melbourne Community Legal, regardless of race, religion, gender or sexuality.