Mayra Ramirez (she, her, ella) is an intern in our Case Management unit. She is chronicling her year-long internship to raise awareness about the important support she and the entire Case Management unit provide to our clients.
During my time at CLA SoCal, I have interacted with many clients and am always amazed by their resilience. For example, my client, Manuela (fictitious name) is a mother of three, an immigrant, monolingual Spanish speaker, and a survivor of domestic violence. Despite the challenges Manuela has faced, she is still fighting for herself and her children. Her strength and perseverance brought her to CLA SoCal in search of assistance with custody and we were able to help her with that and so much more.
Working in a multidisciplinary team with attorneys and paralegals allows us to holistically support our clients by working together to offer legal and supportive services. In Manuela’s case, legal advocates helped her with the necessary paperwork, and I supported her desire to seek therapy. I was able to enroll her in free therapeutic services through University of Southern California Telehealth. Manuela has found therapy to be incredibly helpful; she said it’s the first time in her life that she has been able to speak about her trauma and reflect on her experiences.
Collaborating with legal advocates to provide holistic, wraparound services to clients like Manuela is important because, together, we are addressing the leading causes of the challenges clients are facing rather than just treating the symptoms.
As my internship ends, I feel grateful for all that I have learned about case management best practices and about the legal process. Working with legal advocates has been a great experience because they have taught me a lot about the legal issues our clients face. I was also able to teach them about trauma-informed care. With the help of Susana Ferrier, case management intern, I led a three-part training for the Intake & Assessment Unit. We received great feedback and I am hopeful the tools and strategies we shared will be applied in the advocates’ work.
Thank you to staff case managers Abi Resendiz-Zuñiga and Griselda Sierra for creating an opportunity and space where I felt valued and respected. I have learned that one of my most important goals is to find a workplace where I feel valued and supported just as I did at Community Legal Aid SoCal.
