Our
Mission

Take care to help veterans who care for others too

If Parents Get Deported, Who Gets Their Children?

LegalHealth director, Randye Retkin, who played a critical role in helping draft and lobby for legislation that expanded the Standby Guardianship law in June 2018, is quoted in this article about this law’s vital role in protecting the children of immigrant New Yorkers. You can also read about the emotional relief experienced from a LegalHealth client who was able to designate a close friend as standby guardian to her children because of this law.

Samantha Kubek of the NY Legal Assistance Group discusses MST

LegalHealth staff attorney, Samantha Kubek, talks with Veterans Radio host, Jim Fausone, on opening the first legal clinic in the nation for women veterans, many of whom have experienced military sexual trauma, and her work helping them access VA healthcare and benefits. Listen to the full interview.

Greenberg Traurig Albany Team Works Pro Bono to Draft, Help Pass Bill Allowing Migrant Parents to Designate a Standby Guardian for their Children

A team from the Albany office of Greenberg Traurig, LLP, working pro bono with LegalHealth, New York Legal Assistance Group (NYLAG), helped draft and lobby for the legislation signed into law today to allow parents who are at risk of detainment or deportation based on immigration status to designate a standby guardian to care for their children in the event the parent is detained or deported.

Senator’s plan best for GI sex-assault victims

This month, with the national #MeToo movement still in the headlines, the Department of Defense’s Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office (“SAPRO”) published its annual report. The report stated there were 5,110 reports of sexual assault in 2017, but only 406 resulted in court-martial. Even worse, only 284 of those cases that proceeded to trial led to a conviction

Healthcare Options for America's Veterans

Veterans have choices when it comes to their healthcare... The veteran healthcare landscape is filled with options, and therefore can be daunting for consumers, providers, and advocates alike. This article seeks to provide an overview of the non-VA healthcare options available to veterans, and some insight into how these various systems and programs work together to serve our nation’s veterans.

Immigration Crackdown Raises Fears of Seeking Health Care

In New York, a woman with cancer who entered the country without documentation 20 years ago from the former USSR republic Georgia missed several appointments and told her doctor early last year she would not continue chemotherapy, according to Domna Antoniadis, an attorney for the New York Legal Assistance Group who assists patients in a New York hospital. She told Antoniadis that she felt Trump would deport her because she was receiving too much medical care. Antoniadis shared the story with the woman’s permission but declined to provide the patient’s name.

A mother’s dilemma: Get cancer meds and risk deportation, or hide and surely die

Domna Antoniadis, a senior staff attorney in LegalHealth, helps patients get health coverage. She is featured in this story about a client afraid to seek treatment because of her immigration status.

Medical-Legal Partnerships At Veterans Affairs Medical Centers Improved Housing And Psychosocial Outcomes For Vets

Medical-legal partnerships—collaborations between legal professionals and health care providers that help patients address civil legal problems that can affect health and well-being—have been implemented at several Veterans Affairs (VA) medical centers to serve homeless and low-income veterans with mental illness. We describe the outcomes of veterans who accessed legal services at four partnership sites in Connecticut and New York in the period 2014–16. The partnerships served 950 veterans, who collectively had 1,384 legal issues; on average, the issues took 5.4 hours’ worth of legal services to resolve. The most common problems were related to VA benefits, housing, family issues, and consumer issues. Among a subsample of 148 veterans who were followed for one year, we observed significant improvements in housing, income, and mental health. Veterans who received more partnership services showed greater improvements in housing and mental health than those who received fewer services, and those who achieved their predefined legal goals showed greater improvements in housing status and community integration than those who did not. Medical-legal partnerships represent an opportunity to expand cross-sector, community-based partnerships in the VA health care system to address social determinants of mental health.

Over 70,000 military sexual assaults took place last year -- Congress must take action

Congress should act swiftly to approve long overdue legislation introduced Thursday to strengthen the prosecution of sexual assault in the military. The Defense Department estimates that about 8,600 women and 6,300 men were sexually assaulted in our armed forces last year. Most victims were attacked more than once, resulting in over 70,000 sexual assaults in 2016 alone. As a civil legal aid attorney representing women who are survivors of military sexual assault, I have seen the terrible suffering of far too many and the failure of the military to adequately punish attackers and help survivors deal with their trauma.

Opinion gives guidance for legal services lawyers on advising with nonlawyer professionals

There are too few publicly funded attorneys, combined with pro bono lawyers, to help everyone with a civil legal problem who cannot afford a lawyer. Often, the only option is self-help because states’ provisions on the unauthorized practice of law ordinarily do not let nonlawyers assist.

This Year, Honor Our Veterans By Giving Them the Legal Services They Need

As we celebrate Veterans Day, Congress is debating legislation that would allow the Department of Veterans Affairs to directly fund civil legal aid for veterans. The Legal Services for Homeless Veterans Act would vastly expand access to justice for millions of veterans facing civil legal challenges by making lawyers available at VA medical centers where many veterans receive their healthcare.

For Some Older Veterans the Wounds of War Have Yet to Heal

For many older Veterans the physical wounds of war not only persist, but are also compounded by a host of other challenges that come with getting older...Indeed, for the clients I serve as an attorney staffing the Older Veterans Legal Clinic at VA hospitals in New York City, cognitive decline can combine with health issues and psychological injuries to prevent them from effectively navigating social service systems, enforcing their legal rights, and accessing justice.

15 Years 15 Voices: Complementing Healthcare with Legal Care

This commemorative booklet brings together the stories of the social workers, funders, doctors, politicians, and patients who have played an integral role in the success and growth of LegalHealth.

The Invisible Veterans

In the next ten years, the number of women veterans is expected to double, reaching almost five million. Equal Justice Works Fellow, Samantha Kubek, writes about the unique hurdles this population faces and how this inspired her to open the first ever legal clinic for women veterans.

LegalHealth Celebrates 15 Years

On November 14, LegalHealth celebrated its 15th anniversary at a cocktail reception held at the Society of Illustrators in Manhattan. The event brought together healthcare professionals, volunteers, private funders, government officials and LegalHealth staff members – present and past – to celebrate their remarkable growth and the extraordinary impact it has had on changing the lives and improving the health of low-income patients.

Women who want lawyers

LegalHealth's Equal Justice Works Fellow, Samantha Kubek, will be staffing the VA's first legal clinic for women. Find out more about her project and her holistic approach to legal care.

When Your Medical Claim is Denied

LegalHealth Supervising Attorney, Debra Wolf, writes on what to do when a medical claim is denied and the next steps one can take in this blog for the Huffington Post. This piece highlights the importance of understanding one’s health care policy while breaking down the appeal process one can go through after receiving a denial.

Yes, doctors and lawyers can work together (Crain's New York Business, Opinion)

Mount Sinai Health System's President and Chief Executive, Dr. Kenneth L. Davis and Dr. Ramanathan Raju, President and Chief Executive of NYC Health + Hospitals, highlight their collaboration with LegalHealth and the important impact medical-legal partnerships have on improving patient health in their op-ed article for Crain’s New York.

New York City’s Rising Number of Homeless (Letter to the Editor, New York Times)

LegalHealth Director, Randye Retkin, and Associate Director, Julie Brandfield, are featured in this New York Times Letter to the Editor in response to an article on Mayor Bill de Blasio's plan to expand supportive housing for homeless New Yorkers.

Helping Veterans Face a Web of Legal Crises (Huffington Post, The Blog)

LegalHealth’s Equal Justice Fellow, Keith Hoffmann, is an attorney at two of the New York City VA hospital clinics. The veterans he represents are impacted by a multitude of legal matters while many also live with chronic health concerns. Noting the hardships and complexities his clients face while navigating their legal matters, Keith helped to develop two outreach and educational initiatives: The Legal Stand Downs Series and “The New York City Veteran’s Legal Guide.”

The New York City Veteran's Legal Guide

The New York City Veteran’s Legal Guide is an educational tool that contains information on 50 of the most common legal issues that veterans face. From housing to VA benefits, this guide aims to provide a basic understanding of the civil legal matters impacting veterans though comprehensive, easily accessible tip sheets.

When an Attorney Is the Best Medicine (Huffington Post, The Blog)

The National Cancer Legal Services Network (NCLSN) was established in 2009 to increase the availability of legal services to people living with cancer. Cancer patients face numerous legal and economic challenges, and the NCLSN works to connect cancer patients with the legal resources needed in order for them to be able to focus on their medical care and quality of life. The work done by the NCLSN has a profound impact on cancer patients and their families.

Hospital HOPE Count 2015 Snapshot

The Homeless Outreach Population Estimate (HOPE) takes place annually in New York City to identify homeless individuals. Included in this count are people who take shelter in the Medical Emergency Departments, considered the “hidden homeless”, of hospitals in the Bronx having not registered for any type of medical care from the facility. The Hospital HOPE count 2015 Snapshot highlights and analyzes this year’s finding while offering conclusions and next steps.

Seriously Ill and Homeless in New York: A Problem We Need to Solve

LegalHealth is part of Collaborative Housing and Health (CHH), a working group of medical and legal professionals who are exploring ways to address the pressing needs of homeless patients in New York City. CHH is part of a national movement among health professionals to build awareness for the grim reality that housing and other Social Determinants of Health including employment status, income, education, and access to food, can dramatically impact a person’s health and her use of medical services and resources.

Northport VA Medical Center and NYLAG Announce Long Island’s First Medical-Legal Partnership for Veterans

The Northport VA Medical Center and LegalHealth, a division of NYLAG, have launched a new initiative to improve the health and well-being of veterans by addressing pressing legal needs that endanger their health or impede their treatment and recovery. The partnership was made possible through funding from the Long Island Community Foundation (LICF) and DAV (Disabled American Veterans) Charitable Service Trust.

Congressional Briefing: Communities on the Front Lines

The Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation hosted a Congressional Briefing on “Communities on the Front Lines: Innovative Models for Addressing Veterans’ Mental Health and Reintegration Needs” where Randye Retkin asked Congress to authorize and appropriate funding for legal services provided through the medical-legal partnership model at VA Hospitals to adequately address the intertwined health and legal needs of Veterans and to improve their overall quality of life.

"Assumption Not Enough to Evict Tenant, Judge Finds" (New York Law Journal)

Read about one of LegalHealth's recent cases.

"When Poverty Makes You Sick, a Lawyer Can Be the Cure" (Fixes, New York Times)

LegalHealth is featured in this excellent article about medical-legal partnerships.

"Cancer Poses Challenges for Workers Trying to Stay on the Job" (On Cancer, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center)

“For people that work, whether or not they will manage to stay employed while they go through treatment is a huge concern,” says Debra Wolf, an attorney for the New York Legal Assistance Group who works with cancer patients on legal and employment issues.

"NYLAG, Public Hospitals Expand Partnership" (New York Law Journal)

A partnership between the New York Legal Assistance Group and New York City's Health and Hospitals Corp. has expanded to three additional hospitals.

"Metropolitan Hospital Opens Legal Clinic And A Harlem Story" (Harlem World Magazine)

Read an article about LegalHealth's expansion to all HHC Hospitals in Harlem World Magazine.

The Doctor Is In, So Is Your Lawyer (HHC Today)

HHC expands LegalHealth's medical-legal partnership that offers free hospital-based legal services for low income patients to all 11 public hospitals in New York City.

HHC Expands Medical-Legal Partnership to Offer Hospital-Based Legal Services to Low-Income Patients

The New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation (HHC) today announced the expansion of a medical-legal partnership that will offer free hospital-based legal assistance to thousands of low income HHC patients who need help getting food stamps, unemployment benefits, avoiding evictions, obtaining visas and navigating other immigration matters. Under a new agreement, HHC will renew and expand the services of LegalHealth, a division of the New York Legal Assistance Group (NYLAG), to continue services at eight HHC hospitals and open new legal clinics at Coney Island Hospital in Brooklyn, Metropolitan Hospital Center in Manhattan and Queens Hospital Center.

Serving Those Who Served: Meeting Veterans Unmet Legal Needs

A new article in the American Bar Association Experience Magazine discusses new strategies to address legal needs of veterans and highlights LegalHealth's studies on the proven impact of medical-legal partnerships. The article is written by Will A. Gunn, Stephen T. Redmon, William F. Russo, and Sean C. Clark of the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation Awards Research Grant to LegalHealth and CVLC

The Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation has awarded a research grant to the New York Legal Assistance Group (NYLAG) and Connecticut Veterans Legal Center (CVLC) to study the impact of civil legal services on mental health and quality of life outcomes for veterans receiving treatment in Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) mental health and homeless programs. The grant is part of the Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation’s Mental Health and Well-Being initiative that focuses on community-based solutions to aid in the much-needed response to the mental health and community reintegration needs of veterans, military service members, their families and families of the fallen.

Inspired Medicine (Montefiore Medical Center): On LegalHealth

Check out Montefiore Medical Center's Inspired magazine article on LegalHealth's work providing free civil legal services to patients.

Town & Village: "Free Legal Help For Vets at VA Med Center"

LegalHealth's partnership with the VA is featured in Town & Village.

The LegalHealth Immigrant Access to Healthcare Project

Sara Levine joined LegalHealth as an Equal Justice Works Fellow to pursue “The LegalHealth Immigrant Access to Healthcare Project,” a project she designed to serve humanitarian immigrants with serious health conditions.

VA Project Helps Vulnerable Veterans, and Showcases the Power of Medical-legal Partnerships

Last October, LegalHealth established onsite legal clinics at two Veteran Administration hospitals in New York City, thanks to a generous grant from the Robin Hood Foundation, which has been helping New York veterans living in poverty for over 20 years. LegalHealth applied the proven medical-legal partnership model to the project in VA hospitals, coordinating with medical staff to identify and serve veterans with pressing legal needs, mostly eviction prevention, public benefits denials, and debt collection. All of these clients are referred to these legal clinics by healthcare providers in the outpatient psychiatry and PTSD clinics at these hospitals.

A Unique Partnership: LegalHealth and the VA

LegalHealth is featured in the New York State Bar Association’s Pro Bono Newsletter on Veterans Affairs.

LegalHealth Associate Director, Julie Brandfield, Honored by New York City Bar Association

Julie Brandfield, Associate Director of LegalHealth, was honored with a New York City Bar Association Legal Services Award in recognition of her dedication to serving low-income, chronically-ill individuals and their families.

LegalHealth helping Clients Naturalize

LegalHealth attorneys help two clients naturalize, allowing them to be eligible for certain benefits only available to American citizens.

LegalHealth Designated One of the First Health-Related Legal Services Programs By New York State Department of Health

LegalHealth together with Beth Israel Medical Center, has just been designated by the New York State Department of Health as one of the State’s first “Health-Related Legal Services Programs.”

LegalHealth Attorney Helps Replace Air Force Serviceman's Burial Flag Lost in Superstorm Sandy

LegalHealth attorney Debra Wolf and Akin Gump attorney Rachel Ehrlich Albanese assisted a Staten Island family in replacing their son’s burial flag which had been lost during Superstorm Sandy.

National Cancer Legal Services Network Conference Announced

Cancer legal advocates will meet in November in New York to learn about recent developments in their field.

LegalHealth among Grantees Marking Komen Greater NYC’s 22nd Race for the Cure

LegalHealth Director Randye Retkin was among nearly a dozen grantees to ring The Closing BellSM at the New York Stock Exchange to mark the 22nd running/walking of the Komen Greater New York City Race for the Cure.

Making Legal Services a Part of Patient Navigation

LegalHealth Director Randye Retkin is interviewed about the need to include legal services in the arsenal of resources available to navigation programs in an article in Oncology Times.

LegalHealth Receives Prestigious Joan H. Tisch Community Health Prize

The annual award recognizes distinguished accomplishment in the field of urban public health.

"Permanent Patient," Assisted by LegalHealth, Leaves Hospital

Through the advocacy of LegalHealth’s Ann Dibble and Randye Retkin, client Fatima Khydarova has finally moved to a skilled nursing facility after waiting two years for Medicaid Assistance.

LegalHealth Embarks on New Partnership to Serve Survivors of Torture

NYLAG’s LegalHealth Division has initiated a new partnership with the Libertas Center for Human Rights at Elmhurst Hospital and the private law firm Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, LLP. The three organizations have come together to collaboratively support asylum applicants.

LegalHealth Leads Launch of New Resource for Cancer Survivors

Led by Legalhealth, the National Cancer Legal Services Network launched a new website to increase the accessibility of free legal resources for cancer patients and their families.

NYS Endorses Legal Advocacy Services In Healthcare Setting

On Friday, Governor Andrew Cuomo signed a bill making New York the first state to endorse the importance of providing free legal services onsite at healthcare facilities.

LegalHealth Opens Two New Clinics in New York City Hospital

More New Yorkers are benefiting from the services of NYLAG’s LegalHealth division thanks to the recent expansion to 16 clinics throughout the five boroughs.

Celebrating LegalHealth's Impact

NYLAG’s LegalHealth division held a reception on December 7th to thank its legal and healthcare partners for their ongoing support and to introduce newcomers to the importance of its work.