PLE Volunteer Spotlight: Georjo Tabucan

Profile written by fellow JFCY volunteer Arif Hussain.

Recently I had the opportunity to sit down and interview Mr. Georjo Tabucan about his volunteering experiences with the Public Legal Education Team here at JFCY thus far. Georjo comes from a diverse academic and professional background with a very keen interest in the field of law. Like some of our other volunteers, he also dreams of practicing law in the future and helping our community at large. Having interviewed Georjo I find that this article will be an excellent read for anyone interested in the field of law from any direction but especially for youth interested in volunteering or getting information regarding the practice of law from an earlier stage in life. So please enjoy everyone, happy read and happy new year!

Tell us a little bit about yourself, who you are and what you are doing at the moment?

I am currently in my 1st year at Ryerson University pursuing a B.Comm. in Law & Business. I previously majored in Legal Studies at the University of Waterloo for my first two years of undergrad but I felt that living at home and of course studying right in the heart of downtown Toronto would provide me with more flexibility and more opportunities to explore the area of law through volunteering. I am also able meet with and learn from a plethora of lawyers in Toronto, which was more difficult during my tenure at UW. At the moment, I am simply trying to discover which areas of the law I am most interested in, and how I plan to inspire and motivate others, which is one of my main goals in life. 

How did you hear about JFCY and get involved?

During the summer, I held a position with the Government of Ontario, Ministry of the Attorney General, and after my contract ended, I knew I wanted to continue my involvement with a legal organization at the start of the school year because the law is something I'm passionate about. So, in searching for a volunteer position, I came across JFCY on one of the Ryerson websites and I knew right then and there that it was the perfect organization that I wanted to volunteer with. My experience with JFCY so far has been amazing. 

What are your future plans in terms career choice and is the law a part of it?

I know I want to become a lawyer when I finish my undergraduate degree and complete my JD. Every morning, on my way to class, I observe all these successful lawyers in their suits on Bay Street walking to their respective law firms and I picture myself being just as successful as they are. When I'm not swamped with schoolwork, I like reading legislation and case law for fun...I guess it's sort of an obsession that I have. I am just so fascinated with the law and my motivation to learn about the law will never stop. 

You have been with JFCY for sometime now. Thus far, how do you find the work that the volunteers do here and do you think that PLE Team makes a difference?

The type of work that the volunteers contribute makes the PLE Team an essential committee of JFCY. We create meaningful videos and blog posts that each and every young person has access to. Not every child and youth is aware of their rights and it is crucial to spread the word and to start introducing them to what the law is and how they should conform to the rules and regulations implemented by our society in any way possible. Young people are our society's future, so teaching them about the law even at a young age is paramount if our Canadian population is to continue to live in harmony for generations to come. Digital media is without a doubt a powerful tool in instilling values to these young people and the volunteers on the PLE team are definitely making a difference in the lives of children and youth. 

How do you think the clinic overall benefits society at large?

Our society is comprised of a minor population of youth coming from low-income families who cannot afford legal representation during times of conflict. Organizations such as JFCY that offer free legal aid benefits our society, especially those low-income families, because without legal aid, there would be no justice and equity for our children and youth, which would therefore infringe children's fundamental rights. Every citizen of our nation ideally should have a right to legal counsel, and JFCY plays a huge role in our society by providing legal aid to our youth. 

What are your future plans with JFCY?

I would like to get more involved with JFCY because I honestly feel that children have a lot to learn that schools and parents may not teach them which the committee may be able to. Since the law is a complex subject and since not all children grow up with lawyers as parents or teachers holding degrees in law, there needs to be a way for children to at least know about what the purpose of the law is and why certain actions are accepted or prohibited. Personally, anything I can do to help further develop the committee's reputation and contribute to its continued success while making a difference in the community is what I am most looking forward to as a volunteer with JFCY. 

What would you like to say to any youth/adult (perhaps reading this) thinking of joining PLE Team?

To anyone interested in joining the PLE Team, I highly recommend that you apply because you'll be working with some amazing people, you'll be learning hands on about many areas of law, knowing that you're doing something to help shape the lives of children goes beyond a feeling of accomplishment. Volunteering with JFCY is truly unique and rewarding experience! 

This JFCY Volunteer Profile was written by fellow PLE volunteer Arif Hussain. To read more about Arif, check out a spotlight on him here: http://jfcy1.blogspot.ca/2012/12/volunteer-spotlight-arif-hussain.html

Bullying- Words of wisdom and request for feedback

Jasmine Attfield is JFCY's newest Board member, a PLE team member and also a member of JFCY's new PLE subcommittee on cyberbullying. She wrote this post about her experiences being bullied and JFCY's new project:


For 8 years, I was bullied. To be honest, I don't think about it much anymore. It's hard now to think back and remember that I once allowed other people to make me feel that, maybe, life wasn't worth living or that there was something wrong with me that made me unworthy of love and friendship.


Since then, I went to university, I found a job that I love, I’ve made lifelong friendships, and I've even found a partner to share my life with. Other things have happened since I left school too: I got a Facebook account, a twitter account, and a smartphone. In the past 4 years, I have seen how technology has also made bullying easier as well as how it has revealed to the world the realities of school and bullying for young people. However, technology hasn't changed what is hurtful about bullying: social isolation, brutal criticisms, public humiliation, and out-of-control rumors.


Of course, when I was being bullied, I never believed that my parents could understand or help me, but they could and they did. I want to list for you here some of the things that people told me, which proved to be true and helped me get through the hardest years of my life:


- People get nicer. I lived this for myself when, after graduating high school, a boy who had bullied me for years ran into me and apologized for how he had treated me. Most people eventually develop a conscience, and they will come to regret how they treated others in the past and try to avoid being mean in the future.


- Find something that makes you feel good about yourself. You can't control who's mean to you, but you can stop letting them define how you feel about yourself. Keep busy; try new things or work on some goals, like running a marathon or raising money for charity. You will feel better about yourself when you are filling your time productively.


- School is really nothing like real life... at all. When you look back on it, school will be such a small and weird part of your life story, and the people who were mean to you in school will represent a tiny fraction of all the people you will meet. Being “cool” or “nerdy” or “fat” or “awkward” in school will have NO bearing on the rest of your life. I can honestly tell you that I have completely forgotten the last names of most of the people who used to bully me, because in the grand scheme of things, they never mattered to me at all except for the short amount of time when I gave them the power to influence how I felt about myself. 


- You will become more like yourself. One of the things that I found hard in school is that I knew what was "cool", but I was never any good at it. I tried SO HARD to do exactly what was expected of me, but I always came off as SO AWKWARD. Then I realized: I was trying to be someone else, not myself... so then the question became: who am I? I had to work to figure that answer out, and I still have to work every day to not fall into the trap of doing what's "cool" so that someone will like me instead of thinking about whether or not it is actually something that I want to do. Also, by the way, you WILL find people who love you for who you are and those people will make you happier than you ever thought possible, they will make your life so much easier, and you will feel great knowing that you make those people happy in return.


It's amazing to think how much being young has changed in such a short period of time, after so little had changed for so long. Hopefully though, some of that same advice that I got can be helpful to you. The problem is that I don't know whether or not that advice is still useful, so now I have to ask for your help. I need you to tell me: what has changed? do you have any advice to offer other victims of bullying? what kinds of different advice or help would be useful to you?


The world has gotten more complicated since I was your age, and people my age need your help to better understand it. But I am confident that if young and older people work together, we can find solutions to the problem of bullying."

Jasmine, being herself and having a blast!

JFCY's cyberbullying subcommittee would like your feedback on Jasmine's post, on today's forms of bullying, and on what kinds of resources and information you'd like to see about bullying.  Send us an email at jfcyontario@gmail.com, post to our Facebook wall, or leave a note in the blog comments!  If you don't want your comment published on the blog, just say so in your post, since we moderate comments before posting.

VIDEO - Civil recovery demand letters

Have you or your parents received a civil recovery demand letter for shoplifting?  Watch this video to learn more about the law in this area and your rights.

This video was created entirely by volunteers on JFCY’s Public Legal Education Team, with direction from a JFCY staff lawyer.  It is intended to provide general information only, for people who live in Ontario, Canada.

For more information or to speak to a lawyer about your specific situation, please call JFCY at 416.920.1633.

Children and Divorce

by JFCY volunteer Ouran Li and JFCY lawyers

Scenario

Charles Cheenie and Brookie Mules have divorced and have two children from their marriage, both under the age of 18. Charlie has more money than Brookie but has a history of drug addiction and infidelity. The Court has to decide with whom the children of marriage will reside, taking into account the best interests of the children.

The children, Martin Cheenie (age 6) and Denise Cheenie (age 16) lived in Ontario with the parents for five years before the divorce proceedings and moved in with Brooke when she filed for divorce. Charlie is now living by himself at a luxury condo downtown. Denise has taken the children to and from school and has cared for them during the marriage. The children love their father and are unaware of the 'extracurricular activities' he has engaged in because it has not affected their relationship. The children are confused as to why their parents are breaking up and are conflicted as to which parent they want to live with.    

What are the legal rights of the children?

When spouses separate and begin divorce proceedings, serious issues for determination include where the kids should live and who should make decisions about their schooling, health, etc.  These issues are often agreed upon between the parties and resolved out of court.

However, if the parents cannot agree between themselves, a Court will eventually make an Order about “custody and access”. This is when the Court decides who the “custodial parent” should be: ie which parent will the kids live with?  The Court will also decide how much “access” the “non-custodial parent” should have with the children: ie when and where can they other parent see the kids?

This is a legal dispute between the two parents; the children are not “parties” to the legal proceeding.  This can often be frustrating for children, especially older children, who may have strong views and want their voice to be heard by the Court.  However, the Court may request to have the children be appointed a lawyer from the Office of the Children’s Lawyer. This does not happen in all cases, but when it does happen the children’s lawyer will present independent information to the court about the children’s views and preferences relating to the custody and access disputes.

For more information on the Office of the Children’s lawyer, check out their website:

http://www.attorneygeneral.jus.gov.on.ca/english/family/ocl/

Some more online legal information on family law:

http://www.cleo.on.ca/english/pub/onpub/PDF/family/getdiv.pdf

http://www.cleo.on.ca/english/pub/onpub/PDF/family/custody.pdf

Ouran Li is a volunteer on JFCY’s Public Legal Education Team, shown here on the right at a recent meeting.  He is a Law Clerk student at Seneca College and the newly elected President of the Legal Studies Student Association at Seneca College (LSSA) which provides a pool of volunteers from the Paralegal and Law Clerk to Legal Organizations which need them. 

Hello from your summer JFCY Blogger!

Hi everybody, hope everyone is coping well with exams, just remember… summer is just around the corner!

My name is Daniel Lo, I am a law graduate and will be starting my Master of Laws degree at the University of Toronto in September 2011.

I have recently accepted the volunteer role as Public Legal Education (PLE) Team Lead for Justice For Children and Youth (JCFY) for the 2011 summer. I found out about JCFY through contacting the Pro Bono Students Canada – UofT Chapter, and was told of this great opportunity to engage in children and youth rights. Throughout my academic and personal life, I have been an active supporter and volunteer at pro bono clinics and human rights organizations. The work that JCFY does interests me immensely as this is the first exposure that I have had to age-based legal rights for those under 18 years old, and I feel that it is a vital area of the law that is neglected by many.

At JCFY, my role entails helping a staff lawyer to lead the PLE Team, which consists of a committee group of youth and adults who assist in devising strategies to inform young people about their legal rights and responsibilities; the JCFY blog with regular weekly updates; and the Facebook account to ensure as many people become aware of it as possible.

During my time at JCFY, I hope to continue the great work that the PLE Team and the previous PLE Team Lead had done, while also searching for ways to help JCFY grow. I welcome any tips/advice/recommendations/ideas that anyone has in this regard. I can be reached via email. 

That is all for now, I hope that you will keep updated with JCFY through this blog or our Facebook account, we have a lot of interesting projects for the summer planned, don’t miss out!

Daniel

JFCY thanks law student Akosua Matthews for a job well done!

JFCY says a big thank you to University of Toronto law student Akosua Matthews for her amazing work in coordinating the Public Legal Education Committee for the past seven months. Akosua is a first year law student volunteer from the Pro Bono Students Canada program at U of T law school. Her efforts have helped to improve and expand the PLE Committee and its projects.


JFCY is grateful for Akosua's hard work and dedication. She is now preparing for her law school exams and then will be starting a summer job at Downtown Legal Services.


Akosua, we wish you all the best!

Evidence of Fun! The PLE Committee Meets Again

JFCY's Public Legal Education (PLE) Committee met on 10 February to discuss our latest project (details to be soon announced!). We had a fantastically productive and fun meeting! See our group photo. If anyone is interested in joining this great committee, the details can be found here.

The PLE committee hard at work and having a good time!

Our Public Legal Education Committee is looking for New Members!

The Public Legal Education (PLE) Committee for JFCY is looking for new members, especially high school students and law students. This committee brings youth and adults together to share ideas and create resources that provide education to young people about their legal rights and responsibilities. The committee is currently using social media (You Tube, Facebook, Blog, etc) to make legal education more accessible to youth.

The committee typically meets on Mondays at 5pm on a monthly basis. Please contact jfcyontario@gmail.com to join!

CALLING ALL YOUTH! Join our Public Legal Education Committee.

The Public Legal Education (PLE) Committee brings together youth and adults from various backgrounds to create communications (YouYube videos, pamphlets, newsletters, facebook, blogs, etc…) for young people to inform them of their legal rights. This Committee formed in June 2010 and meets 1 - 2 times per month on a weekday evening at the JFCY office. Food and subway tokens are provided.
For info call JFCY at 416.920.1633 and ask for Dre Luey.

JOIN US! Upcoming PLE Committee Meeting – Monday August 30 at 6pm

The Public Legal Education (PLE) Committee is meeting at the JFCY offices on Monday August 30 at 6pm. WE ARE ALWAYS LOOKING FOR NEW MEMBERS (especially high school students and law students). This committee brings youth and adults together to share ideas and create resources that provide education to young people about their legal rights and responsibilities.

At the August 30 meeting we will be discussing our upcoming newsletter, this blog, our Facebook page and the videos that we recently created.

For more information, please call JFCY and ask to speak with with Andrea Luey (Dre), or just show up at the meeting!