Name of Host Organization: New York Lawyers for the Public Interest

City, State: New York, New York

Issue area: Health Care, Community/Economic Development

Sponsor: Johnson & Johnson, Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler LLP

THE INSPIRATION

The communities of Central and East Brooklyn lack adequate health infrastructure and face political and legal barriers that prevent residents from improving the availability of services. The inadequacy of services, and the resulting effect on health outcomes, however, can be remedied by working to ensure that the community knows their health care rights and has a strong voice in emerging policy discussions regarding community health planning.

My project will catalyze systemic change by providing direct transactional and civil legal services and by leveraging community advocacy strategies. I will develop intake and referral systems to represent individuals on health care access and provide transactional legal assistance for community-based organizations. Ultimately, I will work to successfully implement health care access campaigns through community development and seek to reform the way that health care allocation decisions are made at the city and state levels.