Advocating for a Different Kind of Family

Mother & Daughter

Brianna is a former foster youth who knows what it’s like to not have a stable parental figure while growing up. When she ended her relationship with her long-time boyfriend, she knew she didn’t want to end her relationship with his child, Olivia, whom she had cared for and looked after for many years. During her tumultuous relationship, Brianna remained by Olivia’s side. She was essentially the only mother figure Olivia had ever known—taking her to school, scheduling her medical appointments, going to her extracurricular activities, providing for her financially, and doing anything else a parent would do.

Upset over the end of the relationship, Brianna’s ex-boyfriend cut her off from all contact to Olivia. Determined to keep Olivia in her life, Brianna came to us seeking third parent rights; an innovative approach in California that takes into consideration the needs of a child in a modern family. Our attorneys successfully advocated for Brianna in court, which granted her shared custody with Olivia’s biological father. Brianna can now give Olivia the security and stability that she didn’t have, along with all of the love and support any child would be lucky to receive.

Advocating for Stronger Rent Protections

Photo by Ramona Giwargis, Bay Area News Group

Photo by Ramona Giwargis, Bay Area News Group

Earlier this week, the San Jose City Council voted on whether or not to tie rent increases for rent-controlled units to the cost of living, capped at 5%. The Law Foundation, along with partners at the Silicon Valley Renters' Rights Coalition, packed into City Hall to defend past rent and tenant protection victories and urged City Council to vote "yes" on the measure to help stabilize rents for families in San Jose. 

The vote was close, but unfortunately, the City Council did not move forward with a measure to tie rent increases for rent-controlled apartments to the cost of living. However, tenants and community members successfully organized against landlords' attempts to water down San Jose's Apartment Rent Ordinance and Tenant Protection Ordinance, crucial housing protections for over 400,000 tenants in San Jose.

Many thanks to Council Members Sergio Jimenez, Raul Peralez, Don Rocha, Magdalena Carrasco, Tam Nguyen, and Sylvia Arenas for their support. The fight to preserve renter protections in San Jose continues next Spring 2018, when the Apartment Rent Ordinance returns to Council. See you there!  

Learn more about San Jose City Council's vote from The Mercury News.
 

You’re Invited!

Our LACY Honors luncheon is only a few months away and we’d love to have you there. Join more than 300 business, legal, and community leaders and show your support for Legal Advocates for Children & Youth (LACY), a program of the Law Foundation of Silicon Valley. LACY supports children facing serious issues like physical and sexual abuse, entry into the foster care system, and homelessness.

The luncheon honors the outstanding contributions of an individual and an organization that are working tirelessly to improve conditions for children in our community. This year, we are pleased to honor Santa Clara County Supervisor Cindy Chavez as our individual honoree and Fresh Lifelines for Youth as our organization honoree.  

This wonderful event is an important gathering for our community. We hope you can join us!

For more information or to learn about sponsorship opportunities, please contact Carrie Chung at carriec@lawfoundation.org

Click here to buy tickets.

 

Save the Date -  Short 2017 LACY Honors.png