October 13, 2015

Worcester Telegram Announces new LSC Grant

Grant funds new legal aid help at UMass

 October 11, 2015

WORCESTER – The Legal Services Corporation has awarded a grant valued at more than $200,000 to Community Legal Aid so that it can partner with UMass Memorial Health Care and develop a clinic-based program to provide legal services for low-income and minority communities.

The partnership is based on a new primary care model at three UMass Memorial Medical Center clinics that serve a high number of Medicaid patients. The goal is better health outcomes. The framework integrates medical care and behavioral health and adds legal services providers, including volunteer (pro bono) private attorneys. They will help address legal barriers to good health such as substandard housing and access to benefits.

Dr. Beverly Nazarian, physician leader for the partnership, said, “For example, asking about housing helps me to identify issues like mold or pests that may be worsening a patient’s asthma and resulting in emergency room visits or hospitalization.”

In collaboration with UMass Memorial, Community Legal Aid will recruit pro bono attorneys who will be supported and trained by a medical-legal partnership attorney. They will be embedded at the clinics and work with the clinical team to identify and address unmet legal needs that are a barrier to healthy outcomes for patients.

Valerie Zolezzi-Wyndham is the managing attorney and co-founder of Community Legal Aid’s medical-legal partnership. Contact her at 508-425-2803 or vzolezzi-wyndham@cla-ma.org.

The two-year Pro Bono Innovation Fund “grant allows us to expand our services in Central Massachusetts and provide hundreds of new volunteer opportunities to private lawyers with quality support and training,” says Jonathan Mannina, executive director of Worcester-based Community Legal Aid.

Kate Eshghi, senior vice president and general counsel for UMass Memorial, said, “Together we can remove the legal barriers to good health for our most vulnerable patients.”

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