** It's been a long week.
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Oh boy, what a week. We had some big successes; a few birth certificates were shipped and let me tell you, that feels like such a big accomplishment. The City has been regularly sweeping the tent cities in Venice and some of our clients have lost everything in just the last few days, so being able to tell them that their birth certificates are on the way felt great.

One gentleman from Florida needs his birth certificate, so we went through the entire process, made the order, paid the fee, answered the questions, etc. And then I got a call from a county clerk saying that they would not send a birth certificate without an ID, or three documents that require an ID to get. I explained that this gentleman has lived in a tent for a long time, has no documents, and that we have helped a lot of people in Florida, even in the same county, get IDs with alternative methods, and I explained what those were. This woman could not have been less interested. She wanted an ID or a utility bill or she wasn't shipping a thing. So, after going mildly Karen on her, I sought the assistance of our kinder and gentler General Counsel, who called the state Vital Records office which OF COURSE gave us multiple options to verify his identity without ID because that is obviously an option. We have obtained over 1500 IDs in Florida. Most of those clients have been homeless. Over
half have needed birth certificates. We know the laws. And yet, sometimes you end up dealing with an immovable object and you have to just go around it. So our friend in Venice will get his birth certificate, it's just going to take a little longer.

Meanwhile, my mother and I went to our weekly spot on Skid Row (volunteers are still welcome!) and we had one tough case after another. A very kind man sat down and said he needed an ID, but once we got into his story we realized that we had a much bigger problem. F arrived in the U.S. in 1988, escaping the civil war in El Salvador. He did get political asylum, but in the years since he has been unable to maintain his legal status and work authorization, and he has been a laborer at Home Depot for decades. Now, he wants an ID so he can get a legitimate job, a home, and a bank account, but he has no documents and does not remember his Social Security number. Not only that, but we can't call any authorities for fear that they may call immigration. This is exactly why we have a very large law firm with whom we are lucky to have a pro bono relationship for our toughest cases. I knew right away that F needed more help than I could give him, so we got in touch with our firm and they are going to
take him on as a client. With any luck they can not only get him an ID but help him figure out his immigration issues. Fingers crossed.

This week had highs and lows but at the end, we were able to make some real progress with a few clients and get started with even more.

For anyone in Los Angeles or anyone in the country who would like to volunteer, email [email protected]!

Kat
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