Representing adult mothers was a particular challenge. In the cases handled by Alpine lawyer Julie M. Balovich, the mothers had had their cell phones confiscated and were being housed first at a former Army base then at the San Angelo Coliseum.

Establishing trust was difficult, and many women feared that the lawyers were associated with the state.

Balovich, of Texas RioGrande Legal Aid, didn’t know what to expect. “I’m a feminist, and I was apprehensive about what I was going to be defending,” she says. “The second I met my clients, I wasn’t worried. They are very independent women who are very assertive and very capable of explaining what they love about their lifestyle.”

Photo of Julie Balovich by Dennis Murphy.