The White House recently recognized a partnership between two Brownsville organizations that links legal aid with the medical care of low-income families.
Last month, the executive directors of the Brownsville Community Health Center and Texas RioGrande Legal Aid traveled to the White House on behalf of their partnership.
On Friday, the two groups honored the doctor and lawyer behind the program ? Marsha Griffin and Priscilla Noriega, respectively ? at the BCHC?s New Horizon Medical Center which opened in August.
Griffin said with the partnership a staff member at the health center may write a referral for a patient to seek legal aid with the in-house lawyer at Texas RioGrande Legal Aid. Noriega said the one-on-one patient interaction at the health clinic helps develop an understanding of the legal problems a client may face.
?The thing that makes this project so beautiful is that it is so simple,? Griffin said. ?It is bringing the power of law and the power of medicine together to fight for the poor and for all of our patients.?
Griffin said the stress of being denied key services affects the health of an entire family.
?We?re not out here to sue people,? she said. ?We?re out to really enforce the laws that are there to help people.?
The partnership between the health center and legal aid was founded in 2008.
Noriega said high poverty here contributes to the need for such resources as does the rapid population growth. Legal problems may range from disability benefits being denied because of a paperwork error to denied retirement benefits, she said.
?Most people know when they need to go see a doctor,? she said. ?A lot of people don?t know when they need to see a lawyer, though. They don?t know when they have a right that?s being stepped on. They don?t know when they have a legal means. They can?t really identify that. That?s why this is so important.?
According to BCHC figures, the onsite paralegal, Celeste Longoria, and Noriega have helped 659 patients from the partnership?s inception to this past July. Of those visits, 484 cases were created with 41 percent of them dealing with public benefits, 10 percent with housing and 4 percent with education, the BCHC said.
The partnership does not handle family law, employment, domestic violence, immigration or civil cases. Clients must be residents of Cameron County, a patient of the Brownsville Community Health Center, meet income and asset limitations set by the federal government, and meet the priorities and acceptance guidelines of the partnership.
The BCHC and TRLA were honored as ?Champions of Change? at event in October in Washington. The Access to Justice Initiative of the U.S. Department of Justice joined with the White House Office of Public Engagement to celebrate advocates for social justice, a press release said.
?The reality is the work is being done locally. It?s not being done in Washington,? BCHC Executive Director Paula Gomez said. ?It?s not about accolades. It?s not about ribbons. It?s not about flashy moments.?TRLA Executive Director David Hall said medical-legal partnerships are a growing trend. The National Center for Medical Legal Partnership said such programs provided legal assistance to more than 34,000 individuals and families in 2010.
?This is part of a movement,? Hall said. ?There are a number of different models, and we think this one is the best.?
Source: http://www.brownsvilleherald.com/news/legal-133298-partnership-aid.html
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