Manhattan Legal Services Launches New Legal Project for Harlem Youth

August 1, 2013, New York, NY—Manhattan Legal Services (MLS, a program of Legal Services NYC) is pleased to announce the West Harlem Youth Legal Advocacy Project, an initiative developed to address challenges faced by young people who seek to lift themselves out of poverty.

On a daily basis throughout New York City, young people encounter a myriad of obstacles that significantly restrict their education and employment opportunities. Many are forced out of school and into the criminal justice system, leaving them with criminal records that further limit their potential. In 2011-2012, police conducted 882 arrests and issued 1,666 summonses to New York City students. Many of these cases involved minor violations of school discipline codes, and a disproportionate number of the students were people of color, many with special educational needs.    

The West Harlem Youth Legal Advocacy Project (WHYLAP) will utilize the vast legal experience of MLS advocates in the areas of education, immigration, employment, and consumer law to assist at-risk youths in achieving outcomes that will help break the school-to-prison pipeline. The project will provide comprehensive legal services to adolescents and young adults in Harlem, helping enhance employment and education outcomes for individuals, creating safer, more stable neighborhoods, and spurring economic development for the community as a whole. 

“We are committed to attacking poverty and fighting for justice and are delighted to collaborate with strong community-based organizations to help West Harlem youth succeed,” said Peggy Earisman, MLS Project Director.

“We believe that when young people are given the tools to succeed, they will,” said Sarah Alba, an attorney at Manhattan Legal Services. “That often means removing impediments to their success, which we can do through legal advocacy.”

Through WHYLAP, MLS will provide free legal services to eligible West Harlem youth and their parents in the following areas:

Education: WHYLAP will provide representation to students in suspension hearings, and advocate for special needs students by ensuring that the Board of Education issues Individualized Education Plans (IEP) that provide them with the services they require to obtain an adequate education.  

Immigration: WHYLAP will identify young people who are eligible for citizenship or naturalization, assist them in obtaining this change in status, and educate them about the types of activities that make them vulnerable to deportation.

Employment: WHYLAP can assist Harlem youth in obtaining employment by helping clients to correct credit reports; by challenging employers’ practices of using credit reporting to discriminate against people of color; and by sealing records, correcting RAP sheets, and obtaining licensing for youth with criminal records.

Consumer: Many young people are targeted by for-profit colleges and trade schools for programs that saddle them with large student loan debt but fail to lead to meaningful employment. WHYLAP can assist young people who have been victimized by these schools in applying for discharges of their federal student loans and minimizing the detrimental effects of debt collection.

MLS (formerly Harlem Legal Services) is a program of Legal Services NYC, the largest provider of civil legal services in the country.  For fifty years, MLS has fought poverty by providing high quality free legal services to poor and low-income Manhattan residents.  With a dedicated staff of twenty attorneys and four paralegals, MLS serves Manhattan through neighborhood offices located in Harlem (at 1 West 125th Street) and lower Manhattan (at 40 Worth Street.)

The Project will be based out of MLS’s Harlem office, and will provide assistance to young people throughout the West Harlem community.  Funding is being provided by the West Harlem Local Development Corporation Fund, a project of Tides Foundation.

For more information, contact: Peggy Earisman (646) 442-3142, [email protected] or Lynn Ventura, (646) 442-3129, [email protected].

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