By Gene Pak, HAC Summer Legal Intern
Before law school, I spent several years in Los Angeles as a music artist. My community at the time consisted of transgender women composers who taught me so much about not only music, but what it meant to exist in a world that felt increasingly hostile to people like us. When I spent time with these friends, I noticed how often our conversations would shift from music to survival. How can we take care of ourselves while people in power are making efforts to take away our basic rights? Though unspoken, we recognized that this question did not just apply to us. Transgender people are one of many communities facing a lack of support to meet the basic needs required to live full, healthy lives.
My experience interning at HAC this summer has shown me the kind of work that is possible to address such a loaded and complex issue. During my time at HAC, I have learned how to conduct intake meetings with clients, analyze medical records, create compelling legal arguments for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI), and engage with the nuanced contours of disability law. However, most importantly, HAC has taught me that homelessness and disability can affect any one of us.
Working at HAC was a salient reminder that distancing ourselves from disability and homelessness is refusing to recognize that people who have disabilities and are experiencing homelessness are members of our community. I have learned directly from countless HAC attorneys, advocates, and workers who exemplify how to support clients not only on a legal basis but also from a deeply interpersonal perspective.
Distancing ourselves from disability and homelessness is refusing to recognize that people who have disabilities and are experiencing homelessness are members of our community.
I am very grateful to have received the Legal Aid Leaders Fellowship (LALF) grant from HAC through funding from the State Bar of California. Receiving this fellowship meant that I could focus on my work without having to worry about the financial aspects of my summer. The LALF grant took away many of my daily stressors, allowing me to bring my best efforts to HAC.
As my summer fellowship draws to a close, I am reminded of how I felt when I interviewed for HAC. In other, past experiences, I saw the faces of interviewers drop when they realized I was transgender, almost as if my gender identity meant that I could not bring a valuable perspective to their organizations. But I remember how comfortable I felt when Alan Dunnigan, HAC’s Intern Program Manager, interviewed me for the position. I thought, “If the intern coordinator is going this much out of his way to make me feel comfortable and heard in this interview, I can only imagine the dedication this organization has towards its clients.”
I am happy to share that my thoughts were correct. Though I am sure the assignments I have completed this summer have only provided a minuscule dent in the constant influx of work that is always left to be done at HAC, I am so grateful that I had the chance to do them with the guidance of so many incredible people. I am motivated to continue doing this work for others in the future because of my time at HAC, and for that I will always be thankful for this experience.