In every city across the country, there are community members in distress. Evie Greenstone, an attorney and resident of Florida’s Broward County, is grateful to the many organizations in her area that provide resources to those in need – especially to children. An organization that Evie Greenstone especially admires is Kids in Distress, a nonprofit group in Broward County. Evie Greenstone has been lucky enough to volunteer at Kids in Distress, which works hard to improve the lives of children who need help the most.

Evie Greenstone is a Florida State Bar licensed attorney who spent three years prosecuting crimes as an Assistant State Attorney in Broward County. Working within the criminal justice system, she was inspired to investigate methods of crime prevention. She found that programs which serve children may also serve as highly effective methods of crime prevention. As a young lawyer, and a member of the Florida Bar Young Lawyers Division, Evie Greenstone began to volunteer at Kids in Distress. Founded in 1979, the mission of Kids in Distress is to prevent child abuse, preserve families, and treat children who have been abused or neglected. Kids in Distress began as a single emergency shelter, but has grown and expanded its services, which are now conducted from a 5-acre campus in Broward County. The organization is designed to help children of all ages, and with all levels of needs. Kids in Distress features programs to help abused children, and programs to help newborn babies exposed to illegal drugs in utero. Kids in Distress also provides family counseling and therapy, education for pregnant women, dental care, employment assistance, and legal assistance.

Evie Greenstone is one of the many volunteers in the program, which helps over 7,000 children in the Broward County community. Kids in Distress estimates that last year, there were 14,086 reported instances of abuse or neglect in Broward County. Unfortunately, this number represents an increase in instances of abuse or neglect since the previous year. For this reason, Kids in Distress is always in need of donations and volunteers, and Evie Greenstone is grateful that she can contribute her time.