AYLA: Community Has Never Been More Important

BY SANDY BAYNE, BAYNE LAW

AYLA PRESIDENT’S COLUMN

This President’s Column is challenging to write because as I sit here today, we are going into our third week of quarantine. I have no clue what Austin, our country, or the world will look like when this article is published. While I was mentally gearing up for normal life to resume in midApril, President Trump extended the social distancing guidelines through the end of April. My hope is that, as you read this article, everything is back to “normal.” However, I don’t think our “normal” will ever be quite the same.

I am in awe of how our local communities have come together, especially our international community. We have come together as humans—across race, ethnicity, age, and political affiliation—-to support and uplift each other through this pandemic. There have been so many moving ways in which we have come together like never before. Musicians posting free online concerts from their living rooms; amazing performing arts companies like Cirque du Soleil streaming shows for families to watch from their sofas; physical trainers and exercise studios posting free workouts and yoga sequences to keep us moving and mentally stable; volunteers shopping for elderly strangers; schools donating lunches to at-risk youth who count on going to school to eat during the day; humorous posts making us laugh during these trying and frightening times; free online CLE and extensions to CLE completion deadlines—the list is endless.

The main takeaway for me is that we are all one and all in this together. Typically, we are used to atrocities that affect us at the country, state, or (at most) city level, but to experience a pandemic that affects every human in the world truly unites us like nothing we’ve experienced before.

If you didn’t know what Zoom was before now, you most certainly have become well acquainted with it. Our local judges have been working tirelessly to ensure that at-risk youth and those who need access to our courts aren’t deprived of the opportunity despite the quarantine. Our children have been spending hours online seeing their classmates for some semblance of normalcy and an effort to continue their education without too much interruption. The Austin Bar, along with our esteemed colleagues at the State Bar of Texas, have been diligently posting relevant free CLEs to keep us all informed and engaged.

Despite the hardships we have experienced in acquainting ourselves with our new normal, I believe that there are some valuable silver linings. Predominately, I can think of two: the value of community and appreciation of the little things. As I look out from my balcony onto beautiful downtown Austin, I see American flags hanging outside of many of my neighbors’ balconies. It almost brings me to tears. I have never before seen so much solidarity and a feeling of togetherness.

I also believe we have learned that we don’t need that much to move forward. As long as we have family, friends, food, and water (and, apparently for some, hundreds of Costco-sized toilet paper rolls), we have all we need. I hope that going forward we have a greater sense of appreciation for what we do have. I hope we realize and appreciate that, generally, we have what we need. And, as it turns out, we can get by without a lot of the superfluous and materialistic things that we previously thought we couldn’t live without.

I urge us all to keep up the spirit of helping each other as we move into our new normal. We have all done such a good job supporting each other through social media, phone calls, FaceTime, and emails. Let’s keep this momentum going!

In our community, there are many ways to help, but two in particular have spoken to me. First, I had the privilege to volunteer as an attorney ad litem through Judge Amy Clark Meachum’s Travis County pro bono wheel, where I was able to help a woman divorce her abusive husband. It took years for the divorce to become final because it was difficult to appoint an ad litem to the case. From the date I was appointed, it took a few months and the divorce was finalized. The look of relief and appreciation when the divorce was granted will forever leave an impression on my heart. I urge you to get involved in this wonderful opportunity to serve as an attorney ad litem through the Travis County pro bono wheel.

Another area where there is a huge need is in providing mentors for foster children. Partnerships for Children has an established monthly curriculum for foster children in Central Texas; they simply need mentors. 8,625 foster care youth in Texas are between the ages of 14 and 18 and each year, roughly 1,200 of them age out of the foster care system. 1 Several judges have mentioned that, despite recommending mentors be appointed for children, many go months—if not years—without being assigned a much-needed mentor. I encourage you to look into Partnerships for Children, where mentors can make a huge difference in a child’s life.

I hope we all go into the summer feeling inspired in our oneness and our desire to continue to help each other. Through this pandemic, we have all been privy to many moving quotes, photos, and videos. I’d like to share one of my favorites with you: “It isn’t the end of the world. It is the most remarkable act of global solidarity we may ever witness.” ~ Anonymous AL

Sandy Bayne

Sandy Bayne of Bayne Law is president of the Austin Young Lawyers Association.