by Adam Delezenne
Sean came to us in hopes that we could help keep his family together. Sean is only 21 years old but has grown up responsible for his three younger siblings. Their mother, who battled a lifetime of drug addiction, died last year. One child went to live with his father. This left Sean to care for his two sisters.
While he was more than willing to step up and assume parenting duties for his six and 14-year-old sisters, he needed a court to grant him guardianship in order to do all that they needed. At 21, Sean knew enough to file and ask the Wayne County Probate Court for guardianship of his sisters. But the process and proofs he needed were complicated, and the court encouraged him to find a lawyer to help him.
We’re glad he came to us at the Eastside Legal Clinic. This clinic, located on Detroit’s east side, serves a very different client community than our Southwest and Pontiac clinics. Our clients here have their experience with poverty in common; the clinic is located in the poorest zip code in Detroit according to household income. This is also a zip code with zero legal providers except us at the Eastside Legal Clinic.
We completed the appropriate petitions and fee waivers to start a case properly – all at no cost to Sean’s family. When we went to court with him, the judge was impressed that this young man had not only stepped to care for his sisters but had also found the help he needed to do it correctly. His request was granted, and Sean now has all the authority to obtain records, get medical help, enroll his sisters in school, or travel with his family that a parent would naturally have.
Because Sean found the help he needed at the Eastside Legal Clinic, the children did not need to enter the foster care system, and this family could stay together. Because of their low income, paying a lawyer for these services was out of the question. Without us, this situation would have had a very different outcome.
The Southwest Detroit Immigrant and Refugee Center provides free and low-cost legal services to those who need them most in the Detroit area, with a focus on recent immigrants and refugees.
We were founded in 2014 by Kevin Piecuch, our Executive Director,
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Photo by Sarah Medina on Unsplash
