2012 CitySquare Annual Report

5
Shontina
A single mother shares how Legal
Action Works (LAW) helped remove her
children from a harmful situation.
Single mother of three, Shontina, is very close to her
children. It was this ‘closeness’ that caused for worry
and concern when she noticed a change in the behavior
of her two oldest children after visiting her exhusband,
the children’s father. After a heart-to-heart
conversation with her children, she learned that
the kids were afraid of their father’s aggressive behavior,
and even more startling, that they didn’t want to
visit him again.
Financial Challenges
Shontina was devastated with this discovery and
vowed to do whatever she could to remove her children
from the volatile situation. Just one small obstacle:
the children’s father had been granted visitation rights
by the court of law, so this meant Shontina had a
legal battle to deal with. But after paying rent, buying
groceries, and paying for other household necessities,
she didn’t have much money left over to afford a lawyer.
Shontina was desperate to remove her children from
this abusive environment, but she also realized that she
could face jail time and possibly even lose custody of
her children if she defied the court order which allowed
for visitation. Then a friend told her about CitySquare’s
Legal Action Works (LAW) department. From there,
she found hope.
Justice for All
CitySquare’s LAW Center provides quality legal
representation for those who lack the financial means to
afford legal counsel. Shontina meet with Ken Koonce,
Director of LAW, who was able to take on her case. She
provided Ken with all the details and documents
needed to successfully represent her in court, which
lead to a judge modifying the original visitation
order. The outcome of the case: no overnight stays and
supervised visits. Unfortunately the children’s father
has not made any recent attempts to see the children, but
to the children, this is a relief compared to the fear
they experienced while being in his presence.
“I am so grateful to Ken and the rest of the LAW
team. They were so committed to helping me,” says
Shontina. “My children are now in counseling, and
they are doing much better now. I’m so glad to see them
happy again.”