“I grew up in San Francisco, in the Excelsior District. When I was nine, my church moved to the Bayview, so I started coming more and eventually moved here. As I grew familiar with the community, I began to notice how much inequality surrounds the justice system. I wanted to help even the playing field, right here in my own backyard.

When I heard about Open Door Legal through my church, the mission seemed impossible: how could an organization provide free legal services to everyone who walked through its doors? It felt like the solution to the injustice I had seen. Now I’m interning with them over the summer, researching the relationship between homelessness and legal aid and the ways in which universal representation can improve the lives of those who have been displaced.

Open Door Legal doesn’t help the community as outsiders; they’re integrated into the community. They have shown me what it means to be empathetic and understanding. I’m able to see what it looks like to treat people as humans and to serve, respect, and represent people even though they may not have a ton of money or power.

Working at Open Door Legal has only increased my passion for public interest law; now, I plan to pursue it as a career. Bayview is such a communal neighborhood, but it remains notoriously underserved. I hope that by helping to provide legal services, I can give back to this community as much as it has given me.”

Photography © Jona Bocari