Legal Aid Chicago advocates for the safety and well-being of families in Cook County. We handle an array of cases involving personal safety and financial stability; expungement of juvenile criminal records; special education and school discipline, and more.
Living in Washington State was difficult for Veronica. She was in a relationship where she had been silently suffering from horrible domestic violence for years. After having her son, Veronica knew that she needed to leave. After one particularly bad incident of violence, Veronica worked with her doctors to formulate a plan of escape. She scheduled a fake appointment, and with her child, snuck out the back door of the clinic and went to a domestic violence shelter. They helped Veronica book a flight to Chicago, where she had friends and family, and upon arrival, she was able to connect with Legal Aid Chicago and file for an order of protection.
Veronica’s ex filed a case to get the child back, but a Legal Aid Chicago family law attorney partnered with legal services in Washington State and got the case dismissed. Veronica was particularly worried about her ex having contact with their child. Legal Aid Chicago not only got her a two-year order of protection, but also sole decision-making for her young child, and no unsupervised parenting time for her abuser until he completed a Partner Abuse Intervention Program.
Today Veronica is in a wonderful, healthy relationship and she and her partner have created a safe, happy family for her son.
“Legal Aid Chicago gave me the push I needed,” Veronica said. “It was the push that I needed to continue with my life instead of being in the shadows of fear.”
