APRIL 17, 2006 -- Second-year law student Jeff Yungman has won
a prestigious summer fellowship from the American Bar Association
that will provide help and assistance to Charleston's homeless.
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INTERVIEW
Second-year student Jeff Yungman is being interviewed
by the Post and Courier's Diane Knich.
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Yungman, a social worker for 25 years who has served as clinical
director at Crisis Ministries in Charleston for the last seven
years, said he was honored by the $2,500 fellowship. The scholarship
is part of the 2006 summer legal internship program awarded by
the ABA's John J. Curtin Jr. Justice Fund. (More info: http://www.abanet.org/homeless/curtin.html)
"One of my goals in attending law school was to be able
to help people who are homeless to be able to access legal services,"
he said. "This scholarship helps me toward that goal.
"It could not have been done without the support and assistance
of the Charleston School of Law. I also think the scholarship
also reflects the School's strong commitment to public service
law and to its students."
Dean Richard Gershon said Yungman's summer internship would provide
him with valuable experiences.
"A big part of the school's mission is to give students
a sense of public service - - a sense that they need to give back
to the community, regardless of the kind of lawyer they eventually
become," Gershon said. "Jeff Yungman takes that mission
to heart and we're proud of his latest accomplishment."
The project
Yungman's summer internship will be with the Charleston County
Public Defenders' Office where he will work to reduce the number
of homeless people in Charleston who have been jailed due to the
circumstances surrounding their homelessness. He also will focus
on removing legal barriers for people transitioning from homelessness
to the workforce.
In his application for the fellowship, he noted, "It became
clear to me early on at Crisis Ministries that although we were
providing comprehensive case management services to our guests,
we were lacking one major component -- legal services. The guests
are confronted with a myriad of legal issues that impact their
ability to reintegrate themselves back into the community and
no one to turn to that could meet their needs."
