Southern Legal Center for Youth

Why you should support us:

We provide free legal support for some of the most marginalized young people in Atlanta and the South. By supporting us, you are helping us eliminate legal barriers so that young people can stay healthy, housed, and stable. 

In 2025, we served 49 young people through our gender-affirming name change and vital document clinics alone. Most were LGBTQIA2S+ and many were unstably housed. 

We are the first and only civil legal aid organization in Georgia to focus on 12-24 year olds at risk of or experiencing homelessness. Without us, young people who need legal support often fall through the cracks.

Young people who are Black, Indigenous, and LGBTQ+ experience homelessness, incarceration, and family separation at disproportionate rates. The law is an effective tool in preventing and ending these experiences when young people can assert their voice and rights through person-centered and no-cost legal representation.

Our target population is young people:

Between the ages of 12 and 24 years old; who are unstably housed or experiencing homelessness, including young people who are at risk of housing instability; involved with the child welfare, behavioral health, or criminal legal systems; and Black, Indigenous, and LGBTQ+ young people who experience homelessness, criminalization, and family separation at disproportionately high rates. 

But we can’t do this without donations! We are asking for your support with this important work. 

Where your donation will go: 

• Youth Homelessness Program: Provide direct legal support on a range of legal issues, from housing and eviction prevention, to immigration, for young people at-risk of or experiencing homelessness to eliminate legal barriers and prevent homelessness
• Southern Kiki Leaders Collective: grassroots youth leadership pipeline designed to support Black and LGBTQIA2S+ youth across the Southern U.S. through culturally relevant health advocacy, legal education, workforce development, and systems navigation
• Shelter Rights Project: Advocate for young people whose civil rights have been violated in shelters and housing programs
• Gender-Affirming Legal Care: Legal name change clinics for trans and gender-expansive young people as well as trainings for legal professionals in gender-affirming, youth-centered care.

All of our services are offered at no cost to the clients. Always.  

---

Help us, help young people by donating to our Georgia Gives campaign. We need your support.

You can also help us by spreading the word. Please tell your friends and family why you believe in our work and encourage them to support us too!