Our Story
Rainy Day Fund: Started in 2021
Leanne and Kieley are a mother-daughter team who co-founded the Rainy Day Fund after seeing the financial frustrations that people face when they are legal-system involved. When Kieley started as a public defender back in 2017, Leanne noticed that Kieley continually had large chunks of money that were going to support her clients. When asked about what was happening, Kieley explained how she occasionally purchased items for her clients such as birth certificates, bus tickets, hygiene products, and the occasional meal.
Over time, it became very obvious to Leanne and Kieley that so many small financial burdens were preventing clients from achieving their next level of success. For example, folks experiencing homelessness could not get a job without an ID which required a birth certificate. Obtaining a copy of a birth certificate can cost between $12 and $150. Applying for programs such as Pre-trial Intervention costs an initial $150 and that doesn’t include program fees or follow up costs. These costs were prohibiting clients from moving on in their journey and public defenders and other public interest workers were paying out-of-pocket when possible. When those costs couldn’t be covered, it increased a client’s likelihood of being stuck in a cycle of legal system involvement.
To help alleviate some of these costs, Leanne organized a donation drive for Giving Tuesday in 2019. She was able to collect enough donations to put together 10 care packages for folks transitioning from unsheltered to sheltered living. While talking to the donors, Leanne found that a lot of community members were interested in supporting these goals with more than donated items, but that there was not a non-profit dedicated specifically to covering the purely financial burdens of being legal system involved.
Putting the pieces together, Leanne and Kieley worked to bring together an amazing group of passionate public interest lawyers and social workers to create the founding board of the Rainy Day Fund. Together, they seek to eliminate as many financial barriers to success as possible so that folks are more likely to escape the crushing cycle of incarceration and housing instability that is associated with poverty.
To help alleviate some of these costs, Leanne organized a donation drive for Giving Tuesday in 2019. She was able to collect enough donations to put together 10 care packages for folks transitioning from unsheltered to sheltered living. While talking to the donors, Leanne found that a lot of community members were interested in supporting these goals with more than donated items, but that there was not a non-profit dedicated specifically to covering the purely financial burdens of being legal system involved.
Putting the pieces together, Leanne and Kieley worked to bring together an amazing group of passionate public interest lawyers and social workers to create the founding board of the Rainy Day Fund. Together, they seek to eliminate as many financial barriers to success as possible so that folks are more likely to escape the crushing cycle of incarceration and housing instability that is associated with poverty.