OAKLAND — Kendi Martinez Garcia was 16 years old when she ran away from home for what would be the last time, from an abusive situation and a mother who didn’t believe her.
Garcia, now 19, ended up in the care of Alameda County Social Services. To help figure out what was best for her, Roxanne Romell, an attorney with the East Bay Children’s Law Offices, was assigned to her. Romell represents Garcia and her interests in court hearings, and advocates for her.
Romell was likely one of the first adults who believed Garcia’s story. Garcia ran away constantly, and her mother did not believe her allegations of abuse by a family member. But Romell did.
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“After I was in the custody of Alameda County, I told my story to Roxanne, and she defended me in court,” Garcia said.
Garcia was paired up with a foster parent. With Romell’s help, she tried reunifying with her mother, including supervised visits and counseling sessions together, but it just wasn’t working, Garcia said.
“I felt like I wasn’t important to her,” she said.
She and her mother fought, her mom blaming Garcia for the family member going to jail because of her allegations. Now that Garcia is an adult, she chooses to see her mother occasionally, but they still fight, and her mother still blames her, she said.
“I don’t really care. That’s in the past, and I’m moving on,” Garcia said.
Romell, sitting next to Garcia during an interview for this story, looked over and quietly said, “It’s not your fault. It’s not your fault.”
Attorneys from the East Bay Children’s Law Offices serve as appointed representatives for children during court proceedings — even young children or babies. It’s not something everyone thinks that children need, said executive director Kristin Mateer. The organization’s motto is “children should be seen, and heard,” she said.
“Kids need to have a voice at the table,” Romell said. “The hearing is about them.”
Children can now remain in foster care until the age of 21, as long as they’re working or in school. The goal of the organization is to have the clients be stable and independent enough to be on their own in adulthood.
In Garcia’s case, she chose to remain with her foster mother in American Canyon. She recently finished her emergency medical technician program at a community college and is on her way to becoming a paramedic. She recently had a baby, Alejandro, but after maternity leave is planning on returning to work as an EMT to complete her needed hours.
“You have to take advantage of what you’re being offered,” she said.
Garcia’s goals are simple, she said: She wants to be a good mother and a paramedic, and become independent.
The organization was formed in 2009 out of the Alameda County Public Defender’s Office. Over the course of a year, the specialized law office handles about 1,800 cases, and has around 1,350 that are currently active. Cases also stay open for a long time — Romell, for example, has represented Garcia for three years.
The East Bay Children’s Law Offices has received funding this year from Share the Spirit, an annual holiday campaign that serves disadvantaged residents in the East Bay. Donations will help support 41 nonprofit agencies in Contra Costa and Alameda counties. The grant will help support the organization’s children’s fund used to provide a variety of day to day needs, be it groceries, a high school yearbook, or a Christmas tree or gifts for the holidays.
The East Bay Children’s Law Offices goes beyond the four walls of the courtroom. It also represents children in education issues such as expulsions, or working on individual education plans for students with disabilities.
Garcia’s attorney helped her get a green card, which allows her to live and work permanently in the U.S. With foster youth, Romell says you have to demonstrate that the child cannot reunify with either parent in order to get a green card. With reunification efforts with her mother unsuccessful, and her father’s whereabouts in Mexico unknown, Garcia qualified.
Romell “talked to me about these opportunities, like how to get my driver’s license, how to obtain my green card. She also represented me in court, because I didn’t want to go to court — I didn’t want to face my mom,” Garcia said.
Romell, who had her own firm representing tenants’ rights before working for the children’s law offices, says she sees herself as almost a grandmother-like figure to Garcia.
“I’m so proud of her, so proud,” she said. “If anyone can do it, she can.”
The attorneys work to help their clients reunify with their parents if possible, and if that is unsuccessful, moves to establish another home, such as with a foster parent or relative.
Despite Garcia’s difficult past, Romell says she knows the young woman will accomplish her goals.
“You want them to blossom in spite of everything. Lots of them don’t want it to define them,” she said, referring to her clients’ often traumatic histories. “I’m around children who experience more trauma and demonstrate so much resilience. It’s the strongest thing, and the most inspiring.”
Share the Spirit
The Share the Spirit holiday campaign, sponsored by the Bay Area News Group, funds nonprofit holiday and outreach programs in Alameda and Contra Costa counties.
To make a tax-deductible contribution, clip the coupon accompanying this story or go to www.sharethespiriteastbay.org/donate. Readers with questions, and individuals or businesses interested in making grants or contributions, may contact the Share the Spirit program at 925-472-5760 or sharethespirit@crisis-center.org.
