Social Responsibility
Calcaterra Law team members were not only committed to those we represented and achieved positive outcomes for our clients; we also committed to our communities, and to advocating for those in need, as reflected below.
Youth in Foster Care & Aged Out Youth
Partner Regina Calcaterra serves on the Board of Believers to You Gotta Believe, a nonprofit that, for over 20 years, has worked to find older foster youth “forever families” so they don’t “age out” of the foster care system on their own. Depending on the state in which a youth lives, they can be kicked out of their foster homes upon turning 18 or 21 years old and are left to manage on their own. Without a safety net, the majority of youth who age out of foster care end up homeless, incarcerated, or worse.
Regina has written about the impact of You Gotta Believe’s mission and the plight of aged out foster youth in her New York Times best-selling memoir and in national and local publications. She also speaks publicly about the plight of foster youth and addressing their trauma throughout the US to family law judges, educators, social workers, high schools, colleges, and countless not-for-profits that impact the lives of children in need.
Regina’s advocacy for youth in need is also reflected in her support of Case’s for Cases, an annual event focused on providing essential and comfort items and acceptable cases to carry them in, for over 600 teens in homeless shelters and foster group homes on Long Island; and as an advisory committee member to The Felix Organization, an organization that provides unique experiences to youth in foster care; and the New York Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children.
Regina also serves as a Court Appointed Special Advocate (“CASA”) in the County of Suffolk, NY.