How Legal Care Helps Health Care Meet Its Mission

How Legal Care Helps Health Care Meet Its Mission

Click the "explore" buttons in this interactive graphic to see examples in each of the I-HELP™ social need areas.

Personal & Family Stability Safe homes and social supports

Legal Status Access to jobs, credit, and benefits

Education & Employment Equal access to work and education

Housing & Utilities Healthy built environment & neighborhood

Income Resources to meet daily needs

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This graphic was modeled on a chart from NCMLP's messaging guide. The citation for that chart and this graphic is: Marple, Kate. Framing Legal Care as Health Care. Washington, DC: The National Center for Medical-Legal Partnership, January 2015.

How Legal Services Can Help

Impact on Health / Health Care

• Secure housing subsidies
• Improve substandard conditions
• Prevent wrongful evictions

• Protect against utility shut-off
• Secure safe housing for returning citizens involved in the justice system

• A stable, decent, affordable home helps a person avoid costly emergency room visits related to homelessness.
• A home free of environmental hazards reduces the risk of adverse health outcomes like asthma.
• Consistent housing, heat, and electricity helps people follow their medical treatment plans.

How Legal Services Can Help

Impact on Health / Health Care

• Resolve veteran discharge status
• Clear criminal / credit histories
• Help transgender individuals change their name and gender marker on their license or ID
• Assist with asylum applications

• Clearing a person's criminal history or helping a veteran change their discharge status helps make consistent employment and access to public benefits possible.
• Consistent employment helps provide money for food and safe housing, which also helps avoid costly emergency room services.

How Legal Services Can Help

Impact on Health / Health Care

• Appeal denials of food stamps, health insurance, cash benefits, and disability benefits

• Increasing someone's income means they make fewer tradeoffs between affording food and health care, including medications.
• Being able to afford healthy food helps people manange chronic diseases and helps children grow and develop.

How Legal Services Can Help

Impact on Health / Health Care

• Secure restraining orders for domestic or intimate partner violence
• Establish adoption, custody, or guardianships for children

• Less violence at home means less need for costly emergency room services.
• Stable family relationships significantly reduce stress and allow for better healthcare decision-making.

How Legal Services Can Help

Impact on Health / Health Care

• Secure specialized education services
• Prevent and remedy employment discrimination
• Enforce workplace rights

• A quality education is the single greatest predictor of adult health.
• Consistent employment helps provide money for food and safe housing, which also helps avoid costly emergency room services.
• Access to health insurance is often linked to employment.