Celebrate National Pro Bono WeekNational Pro Bono Week recognizes lawyers who provide freelegal services to low-income people and focuses attention onthe pressing need to more effectively provide access tojustice for all.

Inner City Law Center is a member of the SoCal Pro BonoManagers Consortium. We invite you to join us at thefollowing events during National Pro Bono Week, October21-26, 2013 including:

To Remake Justice in 2013: Responding to theGrowing Justice Gap, Thursday, October 24, 4-5:30p.m., at the Downtown L.A. Law Library, with areception to follow. A panel of judges, private barleaders and law school deans and professors willdiscuss how LA's legal community can respond to thegrowing challenge of ensuring that low-income peoplecan access justice. Among the panelists is ICLC BoardMember Gary Blasi.

The Public Legal Services Fair, Saturday, October26, 9-4 p.m., at the Downtown L.A. Law Library. TheFair will provide organizations an opportunity to shareinformation, referrals and advice with the community.ICLC staff will be on hand to share information on safeand healthy housing, eviction prevention and otherimportant issues.

"Suite Night of Baseball" A Home Run

On September 4, Judicate West provided Inner City LawCenter with their Luxury Suite at Angels Stadium of Anaheimfor our second "Suite Night of Baseball." This year's eventwas sold out and raised over $7,000 to support ourHomeless Veterans Project.

Many thanks to our sponsors for making this a fun, excitingand inspirational event:

September 2013Suite Night of BaseballHigh School Internship ProgramMilitary Sexual Trauma VictoryAbout Inner City Law Center

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Walking Tours

To learn more about ourhomelessness and slumhousing work, join us forone of our monthly walkingtours of Skid Row.

The next tour is scheduledfor:

Monday, October 21,from 12:00 p.m. to1:30 p.m.

The tours begin and end atICLC's offices at 7th andCentral and are usually

Platinum SponsorJudicate West Foundation

Silver SponsorKhorrami Boucher Sumner Sanguinetti, LLP

Bronze SponsorsHodes Milman Liebeck Mosier, LLPLaw Offices of Timothy P. DillonManatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLPNavigantRussell & Lazarus APCVictor A. Russo

ICLC Hosts Los Angeles Youth through HighSchool Internship Program

In August, ICLC welcomed to our offices four high schoolstudents from Verbum Dei, a preparatory school forstudents in Watts and the surrounding communities. Eachstudent will be in the office once a week throughout theschool year, gaining work experience and skills. ICLC isparticipating in the program to expose these students to thepossibility of a legal service career while helping serve ICLCclients.

"This program is great because of the opportunities that itgives students," says Cristina Cuellar-Villanueva, VerbumDei's director of the program. "It gives them an opportunityto be in an academic setting and yet experience a real-worldjob setting and get this experience first-hand."

Military Sexual Trauma Victory

While serving in the Navy, Marina Damon (not her realname) was sexually harassed by her superior officer on aregular basis over a three-year period. Ms. Damon wasterrified of reporting the harassment because she feared noone would believe her. She lost a significant amount of

conducted by AdamMurray, ICLC's ExecutiveDirector.

Please contact: Sofia Lopez atSLopez@innercitylaw.orgor (213) 891-3209to RSVP.

weight, began drinking heavily to numb her feelings,withdrew from everyone around her, and dreaded going intowork.

After four years in the service, Ms. Damon was honorablydischarged from the Navy. She supported herself by workingodd jobs, but continued to struggle with the symptoms ofPTSD that she had developed in response to the sexualharassment by her superior officer. Feeling deeply ashamedabout what had happened to her and guilty for not reportingit, she developed unremitting anxiety, lost the ability to sleepfor more than a few hours at a time, and developed strainedrelationships with her children.

Eventually Ms. Damon became homeless. She lived in hercar for a year before moving into the New Directionswomen's shelter for veterans. Inner City Law Center helpedMs. Damon submit a claim for mental health benefits basedon her PTSD secondary to military sexual trauma.

In August 2013, Ms. Damon received surprising news: shehad been granted a 70% disability rating from the VA, notfor military sexual trauma, but for depression. Ms. Damon ispleased that the VA has finally acknowledged what she wentthrough in the Navy. She recently got a part-time job at afast food restaurant and is working on her relationship withher children. Ms. Damon hopes that she will be part of alarger trend of service members and veterans continuing tospeak out about sexual harassment in the military and isproud that she had the courage to come forward.

About Inner City Law Center

Inner City Law Center is the preeminent housing andhomelessness legal-services organization working on behalfof poor people in Southern California. As the only provider oflegal services located on Skid Row in downtown Los Angeles,ICLC combats slum housing throughout Los Angeles anddevelops strategies to end homelessness.

Each year, ICLC's staff of 40 (including 20 attorneys)provides free, high-quality legal representation to thousandsof low-income tenants, working-poor families, immigrants,people who are homeless or disabled, and veterans. Drivenby the fundamental principle that every person shouldalways be treated with dignity and respect, ICLC works forlong-term, positive, and meaningful change.

Inner City Law Center