Families experiencing poverty are inadequately supported by our justice system, which is severely under-resourced and inherently complex. Nearly 9 out of 10 families do not get the legal help they need. These unaddressed legal issues act as barriers to housing, health, and economic stability. As a result, many people do not access existing legal protections and trust in the legal system is low. Legal Link’s Community Navigator Fellowship Program works to change this by embedding legal support in community-based organizations.

Developing the skills to confidently and effectively act as a legal navigator takes time, practice, and mentorship. Through the one-year Community Navigator Fellowship Program, Legal Link trains and supports staff at partner organizations to be fluent in community-based legal navigation. The Program increases the skill and capacity of frontline providers, expands the legal ecosystem into community-based settings, moves the needle on poverty-related outcomes, and promotes participation in our legal system as a means to strengthen accountability and equity.

Navigator Fellows:

  • Consistently identify legal issues
  • Connect clients to relevant legal resources
  • Support clients working through legal processes.

To evidence our impact, we carefully track the increasing legal capability of the Fellows and the impact of their work on clients’ poverty-related outcomes.

We are proud to partner with the following leading Bay Area nonprofits serving families experiencing housing insecurity and poverty: Compass Family Services, Hamilton Families, and Homeless Prenatal Program.

Meet our 2021-2022 Community Navigator Fellows

AREL GONZALES

Case Manager, Homeless Prenatal Program

MARIA ARRIBAS

Case Manager, Hamilton Family Services

SUJEY RANA

Case Manager, Homeless Prenatal Program

SUSANA SANDOVAL

Case Manager, Hamilton Families

Community Navigator Fellow Alumni

Clark-Wininger-Bilingual-Case-Manager-for-the-Family-Resource-Center

CLARK WININGER

Compass Family Services (Family Resource Center)

JACQUELINE MOLINERO GUTIERREZ

Bilingual Case Manager, Compass Family Services

Montez-Brooks-SF-HOME-Case-Manager

MONTEZ BROOKS

Compass Family Services (SF HOME)

OSCAR APARICIO

OSCAR APARICIO

Homeless Prenatal Program (Supportive Housing)

TIARA DAVIS

Case Manager, Homeless Prenatal Program

Traci Cook

TRACI COOK

Homeless Prenatal Program (Supportive Housing)