Community Partner: FreeState Justice
Intern: Osiris Mancera
Site Supervisor: Patrick Paschall
What is Freestate Justice?
FreeState Justice is a legal advocacy organization that seeks to improve the lives of low‐
income lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) Marylanders.
The second I walked in I knew it wouldn’t be a cookie cutter internship. Bodies were
moving to and fro, stacks of papers shuffled and stacked, shredded, and printed. The
beeping of the printer was distinct and rhythmic and I could feel the sweat beginning to
gather above my hairline. However, I found a rhythm immediately‐ a rhythm I didn’t
expect until my 5th, maybe even 6th week of working. I felt comfort and my fears of being
useless were quickly squelched. Essentially, I headed our Marketing and Communications
sector which entailed meticulous purging of our database and communications system for
the purpose of direct engagement with our donors and supporters. In doing so, I became
well‐versed in programs including Adobe Illustrator, Publisher, and Excel as well as gained
writing skills for professional platforms. I co‐drafted several press releases and statements
following both legal wins and LGBTQ/Baltimore tragedies. Outreach engagement included
involvement with the Transgender Action Group (T.A.G.) by canvassing for trans sex
workers and distributing legal literature and safe sex resources as well as assisting during
the Youth Equality Alliance (Y.E.A) retreat which involved a discussion of the previous
years' successes and plans for future progress in queer youth equality. My favorite aspect
of the internship was being able to utilize my creativity and organizational skills gained
through event planning by crafting attention‐drawing legal factsheets and assisting with
the celebration in late June.
At FreeState Justice, I learned that there are advocates for LGBTQ people in this country
and that these people not only exist but devote their lives to ensuring LGBTQ people of
color, youth, minorities, etc. are able to live freely and equally just like everybody else. I
learned that the work that I do and the skills that I offer‐ no matter what they may be‐ are
valued and do make a difference. This internship really made me rethink where I see
myself going in the future and allowed me to ponder various career paths that I had
before never considered and, quite frankly, never knew existed. Initially I had some
doubts about this internship because I didn’t know much about law and would have
preferred being more directly engaged with the LGBTQ community in Baltimore, but in
the end I was not disappointed at all. Who knew I would feel at home with a bunch of
lawyers? ‐ Osiris
Tasks:
• Assisted in the coordination, planning, and execution
of the merger celebration of Freestate Legal and
Equality Maryland
• Identified target media personalities
• Created a brand of communications through various
media outlets including press statement and release
templates and email guidelines
• Created a social media distribution plan which
including the creation of legal factsheets, social media
guidelines, and a supporter engagement plan
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