Lacey electrifies any space she is in. She is humorous, brilliant, and is the most resilient teenager you will meet. She is intelligent and hardworking, earning a 4.0 GPA and working multiple jobs to support herself. She also has a fighting spirit that has allowed her to persevere even in the most difficult situations.
Lacey was recently at-risk of homelessness because her family would not accept her LGBTQIA identity. Life at home was traumatizing; experiences included being forced out of the closet, isolated from her friends, and threatened that the $11,000 in college savings that she had earned herself would be taken away. To protect her safety and wellbeing, Lacey chose to pursue the path of becoming legally emancipated.
Lacey connected with LCYC attorney, John Salois, who helped her develop a plan to serve emancipation paperwork to her parents and get ready for her emancipation trial. During all of this, Lacey still carried out her schoolwork and maintained her perfect GPA. Because of her impressive academic record, Lacey garnered six acceptance letters to universities, in three different states, with each offering either full or partial scholarships.
Due to Lacey’s extensive trial preparation and letters and affidavits she gathered from friends, family, co-workers, teachers, and others, Lacey was successful in becoming legally emancipated. Lacey is currently preparing for graduation, and has chosen to attend University of Washington, her first-choice school, where she plans to earn a degree in psychology.
In Lacey’s words: “I have not met someone who has truly cared for absolute strangers in the way that John does. My freedom and happiness are fully owed to him, and I am forever thankful for him. Not only was he there for me legally, but he provided lots of personal support by simply checking on me and making sure that I was doing okay. I am not sure if he realized that he was the only person that did this for me and was truly the reason I kept pushing through this hard time.”