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Attorney Helps Provide Guidance To Young Moms

Kristin Lee Yaw was recently recognized for her work as a volunteer. Submitted photo

As a volunteer with YWCA Jamestown, Kristin Lee Yaw works as part of a team that provides counsel to teenage girls and moms.

“I had kids when I was very young,” Yaw said. “It can be a life sentence and a huge struggle. I want to give these kids a resource that I wish I had during that time.”

Kristin was recently honored by the United Way of Southern Chautauqua County as a Volunteer of the Year. She is a local attorney who has her own practice and partner, Charles Hall. The law firm focuses on matters such as Social Security disability and real estate law. They also offer free consultations for those who may qualify for Social Security disability.

Kristin said part of what she does in her volunteer effort is allow girls to ask questions and to teach them important information such as health care resources.

“I want to show them that they can still do what they want, even as a teenage mom,” she said. “There were a lot of things I didn’t know when it was me, such as questions about the health care system.

She added, “Parenting can be an overwhelming challenge, and there’s not always a lot of direction.”

Additionally, Kristin said some of her motivation for volunteering is for “selfish” reasons, and that it was something she would have appreciated a long time ago.

“I tell these girls that they mean more to me than I probably do to them,” she said. “I just want to provide them something that I would have appreciated at that stage.”

Kristin said her focus is on teenage moms, not just because she was one herself but because they often get stuck in a place with a distinctive lack of help or resources available.

“Teenage moms are often too young for adult assistance and too old for child assistance,” she said. “Community support is an invaluable resource for them.”

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