'Here to help:' Edmonton social justice advocate launches new service at downtown law firm

Some calls for help come in the middle of the night from girls fleeing violent johns.

"I've had experiences where girls jumped out of bathroom windows on the second floor, and I've caught them or they've jumped in the snowdrifts beside me," social justice advocate Mark Cherrington said.

"There's this one picture of this john chasing this girl as she's running into my car."

When Cherrington was laid off from Legal Aid inJune, the 100 or so daily calls and texts didn't let up from vulnerable Edmontonians in crisis askingfor his help.

So he kept helping on his own dime as he looked for a way to makeitsustainable.

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For Cherrington, the answeris a new partnership with the Coalition for Justice and Human Rights, a non-profit societyand registered charity he helped create. A prominent downtown law firm has provided an office where he can work. In a campaign launched this week,Cherrington is asking for donations to cover expenses and a modest salary.

"What I'm doing is unique in the city and it's completely independent of government, and I'm here to help everybody," Cherrington said in an interview Thursday, from hisnew office at Liberty Law.

"I'm an insurance policy to people in Edmonton, that if they're in a crisis situation and have issues regardingadvocacy, dignity, access to basic needs or human rights I'm here to help."

In June, Cherrington was laid off after 25 years with Legal Aid. He vowed to keep serving Edmontonians.

Running as a rookie NDP candidate in Edmonton Griesbach in October's federal election, Cherringtoncame second with 25 per cent of the vote.

He joked that perhaps he lost because door-knocking was often interrupted to helppeople he met on the doorstep feeding hungry constituents, assisting a homeless family, fighting for a woman's disability benefits.

Bob Aloneissi, a partner at Liberty Law, saidthe lawyers at his firm wholeheartedly supported providing a space for Cherringtonso he couldcontinue his work.

"Mark has an excellent track record in the justice system and in the wider community," Aloneissi said in a recent interview. "He's well-respected and he's done great work over the years.

"There are a whole bunch of cracks in the justice system. And with more and more cutbacks we're seeing every day from government, I don't know how he's going to shoulder it all."

Aloneissi said it can be challenging to meet the needs of clients whose problems go well beyond the legal realm and agencies set up to assist are already stretched. That's where Cherrington comes in.

"I mean, we're lawyers, we're not social workers, and there's so much that we cannot do time doesn't allow it," Aloneissi said. "His services are in great demand, and I'm just glad there's a person like Mark who is able to help out."

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Over the decades, Cherrington has developed unique expertise and a reputation for assisting people in crisis while challenging the systems they're up against.

He drives people to the hospital or food bank, ensures single moms have diapers and funds to go back to school, and secures housing for families on the brink of homelessness.

Cherrington has reunited families, advocated for victims of alleged police harassment, and championed the causes of Indigenouspeople and vulnerable youth.

Cherrington said his work will be subject to oversight by the board of directors atthe John Humphrey Centre, which oversees the coalition. The agency will provide tax receipts to donors.

"I'm in everybody's back pocket," Cherringtonsaid. "If their son or daughter gets expelled from school, if child welfare is knocking on the door, if the public guardian is overbearing. Those are the battles that I've been fighting for decades."