http://www.illinoisbarfoundation.org/#!illinois-justicecorps/cpol

Illinois JusticeCorps

JusticeCorps Fellow - Knox County

August 2019 • Galesburg, IL

What I liked

I love being able to make someone's legal issue a little easier to understand and handle. The self-help we provide prepares them for their case/facing a judge, but its also very rewarding for us JusticeCorps Members. It's awesome having someone thank you profusely or go out of the way to say hi or wave to you the next time they visit the courthouse. It may be small instances of help, but we impacted their day or life enough to be remembered, and that's a fantastic feeling.

What I wish was different

I wish I had the opportunity to be a full-time fellow instead of part-time. I think the position may be structured for someone still taking classes, but I graduated in June and would like to commit myself completely to whatever I'm doing. Part-time is still nice, but I feel limited in my ability to staff the self-help law library because it may be perceived as me doing more than I'm being paid for. That's not the worst thing in the world, but my time is valuable, and I must acknowledge that, too.

Advice

I recommend volunteering (or more) with JusticeCorps for anyone that likes working one-on-one with people, cares about accessibility to resources, and/or has an interest in the legal field. There are a lot of people and positions to get to know, and working in such a small courthouse allows for people here in Knox County to network and learn first-hand from experts in the field.
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