Wednesday, October 27, 2021

Thomas Edwards joined our staff last month as an Equal Justice Works Fellow in our Law Project. We asked Thomas to introduce himself.

Hi! My name is Thomas Edwards. I’m joining the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless (CCH) Law Project through a two-year Equal Justice Works Fellowship sponsored by Mondelez International. I’ll be working to develop a Family Law practice at CCH.

I was born and raised in a small community in the panhandle of Texas. Between 2013 and 2018, I worked as an organizer on campaigns across six states. In 2015, I co-founded an organization in Amarillo, Texas which organized to repeal an anti-camping ordinance which made sleeping in public illegal. We also advocated for increased services and lower barriers to service for people experiencing homelessness. Through this work, I became aware of CCH. The group I founded in Texas used research published by CCH as a model for affecting change.

In 2017, I graduated from West Texas A&M University with a B.S. in Political Science. I received a J.D. from Loyola University Chicago School of Law in May of 2021, earning certificates in Family Law, as well as Public Interest and Social Justice.

While in law school I interned at various organizations where I worked in housing, bond reform, and family law. In the summer of 2019, I also had the opportunity to intern with the policy team at CCH.

In my free time, I enjoy reading, playing with my pup Harper, hiking, baking, drinking coffee, and eating ice cream.

The post CCH welcomes Equal Justice Works Fellow Thomas Edwards appeared first on Chicago Coalition for the Homeless.