Her Legacy: Family kind, A One of a Kind Non-Profit
- Feb 24
- 3 min read
By Barbara Adler and Isabelle Yeterian Wallace
Having worked in Family Court for over 25 years while also raising two children with her husband on the Upper West Side, Lesley Friedland was (and continues to be) passionate about serving families through difficult times. Lesley trained as a lawyer and served in all five boroughs of NYC as a court attorney, then as a court attorney-referee. She loved her job. When the court asked her to oversee a new program in Kings County dedicated to parent education and mediation for divorcing and separating parents, she enthusiastically accepted and immediately saw how invaluable these services were, especially when parents were warring with each other, often with the children caught in the middle.
In 2008, the financial crisis caused the end of these valuable support services in Family Court, and Lesley was asked to resume her responsibilities hearing cases as a court attorney-referee. Once back in the courtroom, she found herself reluctantly and sympathetically having to tell those who came before her to come back in six weeks, even though they’d already waited a lengthy amount of time for their initial visit. Without having any supportive programming to offer in the interim, Lesley knew feuding parents would be even more entrenched in their uncompromising positions, often unwittingly terrifying their children. Additionally, many working people are not in a position to bounce in and out of court as the court demands.
This was a very difficult time emotionally, professionally and personally for Lesley. After much soul-searching and encouragement from family and colleagues, she left her job to try to fill the gap that was sorely lacking from the Family Courts and started a not-for-profit in 2012. Attorneys, mediators, parenting coordinators, mental health providers, educators and other colleagues Lesley had known for decades through work stepped up to donate time to provide high quality mediation sessions, parenting coordination, and more, with a commitment to offering all services on a sliding fee scale.
Thus was born FamilyKind, a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization, striving to not only provide these high quality support services to families of all configurations, but also working to change the litigious culture around divorce and separation.
We all know people who have gone through wrenching divorces, and the children who have suffered as a result. With a less-litigious and more child-centered approach to separation and divorce, a lot of the conflict-related trauma inevitably experienced by kids and their parents becomes greatly reduced. And with improved social, emotional and behavioral well-being, there are fewer school absences, fewer financial burdens, fewer child-related disputes, and less litigation in the courts.
“My vision for FamilyKind is to be a resource for every family to access the guidance and tools necessary to foster healthy dynamics and build resilience. Divorce and separation not only affect individual families; they also impact our entire society, and navigating the process successfully requires a village. FamilyKind aims to be that village.” - Lesley Friedland
To anyone out there who is hesitant to launch herself into such a large undertaking, but believes a cultural shift towards kindness, compassion and care is worth sacrificing her personal comfort, Lesley has this advice: it is 100% doable.
FamilyKind’s clients’ satisfaction and knowing how positively their children will be impacted is rewarding beyond measure. The legacy created by FamilyKind will ripple out to future generations, and there’s nothing more satisfying than that.
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