A mobile legal aid clinic called Youth Futures offers outreach and legal assistance to homeless and unaccompanied youth. A youth attorney travels to sites throughout the Chicago area, including schools, drop-in centers and youth shelters. 

Focused on meeting the educational and legal needs of these vulnerable youth, Youth Futures is the only program of its kind in Illinois. More than 80 percent of clients are unaccompanied youth, that is, teens who are homeless and on their own without the support of family. Chicago Public Schools identified 2,916 unaccompanied youth among its students in 2008-09.

Youth attorney Beth Cunningham assists youth with a variety of civil legal problems, including: 

• Education and School Access

• Discrimination 

• Civil Rights

• Public Benefits 

• Identification Issues

• Shelter and Housing

• Partial Emancipation

• Expungement

Clinic sites include the Broadway Youth Center, Center on Halsted, La Casa Norte, Teen Living Programs, and Youth Pride Center.

Youth Futures also gives unaccompanied youth an opportunity to speak out through the H.E.L.L.O (Homeless Experts Living Life’s Obstacles) youth group, which meets every Tuesday evening at the Broadway Youth Center. Formed in January 2005, the group is now in its sixth year.

H.E.L.L.O youth leaders educate the public, policymakers and the media about issues affecting homeless and unaccompanied youth. They participate in a variety of activities, including press conferences, rallies, and stage an annual arts showcase. They are active in the No Youth Alone campaign, which advocates for access to youth shelters and housing programs, public schools and transitional job training.