We want to welcome our newest member to the team, Ying Yu Situ. Starting on June 1, Ying began working as a Paralegal at Youth Represent, assisting our Staff Attorneys and reporting to Supervising Attorney Dale Ventura.
A native New Yorker, Ying “has a passion for working with young people” and brings experience as a community organizer who worked to mobilize high school immigrant and Asian teens on political and social justice campaigns, involving housing and immigration policy, among other issues. She also believes “very strongly in prison abolition” and has worked with a Rikers Island outreach program transcribing oral history and has completed restorative justice training.
In her new role, Ying helps Youth Represent staff attorneys conduct research on client cases and assists them with their caseloads when possible. In addition, she does intake and answers the hotline where she interacts directly with youth clients. “It’s a lot of listening compassionately and intensely to find out what it is exactly they need and how to help them,” she said.
Those skills, coupled with her experience, curiosity, and quick ability to learn, are just a few things that Ventura believes “will greatly benefit our young clients” and lead to success in her new role.
“Ying has tremendous past experience working directly with youth as both a leader and coach,” Ventura said. “At YR, we're looking for folks who know how to uplift and empower youth in navigating truly difficult situations. Ying has an innate ability to connect authentically with clients and that is something that will lead to real positive outcomes for them.”
Due to COVID-19 safety precautions of office closures, Ying has not had a chance to gather in person with the Youth Represent team in the offices. However, she is “really looking forward” to stepping from behind the webcam to meet the team and the youth clients face to face.
Having braved quarantine with roommates in her Jackson Heights, Queens neighborhood, the NYU grad has been enjoying her summer by “going to a lot of DJ sets and making my own mixes.” What’s next? She’s hoping to squeeze in a getaway to the Poconos and “finally learning to drive.”
Welcome, Ying!