Advocacy
Services
Through
collaboration between lawyers and health care
providers, PAI helps families stay violence free,
live in safe and healthy housing, receive the
nutrition they need, earn sufficient income,have
access to health care, and receive appropriate
educational services. Medical-legal partnerships
are an effective way to help families stay healthy.
Family Stories
Maintaining
and Preserving Income
Andrea
was a young woman with two rare forms of cancer.
For eight years, she had been struggling to get
Supplemental Security Income, a means-tested federal
benefit for disabled individuals.Andrea had been
denied twice even though her medical condition had
made her unable to keep a job over the years. Andrea
had to use a tracheotomy tube and exposure to dust
and co-workers with illness caused her to have repeated
respiratory infections. PAI successfully represented
Andrea in a hearing before an Administrative Law
Judge to overturn the denial of her SSI benefits.
Andrea’s SSI benefits will substantially improve
her life and the lives of her children by providing
a stable income and eliminating the need to jeopardize
Andrea’s fragile health.
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Healthy
Housing
Barbara
bought a house she later discovered was unsafe to
live in. PAI advocates investigated the case and
found evidence that Barbara had been a victim of
predatory lending and racially discriminatory steering.
PAI secured the assistance of the state-wide legal
services network to represent Barbara in a lawsuit
against those involved in the purchase and sale
of the home. Barbara’s legal representatives
were able to settle the suit for a substantial sum
of money that enabled Barbara to secure safer housing
for herself and her children.
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Effective
Education
The
mother of Eric, a teenage boy with bipolar disorder
and ADHD, sought PAI’s help after Eric was
placed in expulsion proceedings. While the expulsion
was still pending, Eric was placed in an interim
alternative education placement, even though he
desperately wanted to return to his original high
school. Together with Eric’s mental health
providers, PAI was able to advocate on the Eric’s
behalf so that he was permitted to
re-enroll
in his original high school, preserving the stability
and continuity critical to his mental health.
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Immigration
and Preserving Family Unity
Mitchell,
4 years old, was awaiting a vital organ transplant.
His sole caretaker was his mother. Although Mitchell
was a U.S. citizen, his mother was a Lebanese
national and her visa was about to expire. PAI
assisted Mitchell’s mother in renewing her
visa so she could continue to care for Mitchell.
Shortly afterwards, bombing and violence erupted
in Lebanon. Mitchell’s two young sisters
were trapped there. The U.S. government told Mitchell’s
family that although one sister could be evacuated,
the other could not because she was not a U.S.
citizen. Mitchell and his family were devastated.
It was not clear how Mitchell and his mother could
remain in the U.S. for the medical treatment he
desperately needed. By working closely with a
U.S. Congressional Representative, PAI advocated
on behalf of the family so the two sisters could
be evacuated to the U.S.. Shortly after the family
was reunited, Mitchell started gaining weight,
and his health care providers report that he is
happier and more outgoing.
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Family
Stability — Multiple Needs
Anita
was referred to PAI by a social worker. Anita,
the mother of two children, ages three and two,
was the victim of severe domestic violence. PAI
assisted Anita in obtaining a restraining order
and in gaining ex-parte custody of the two children.
PAI assisted Anita in addressing the multiple
resources Anita would need to support herself
and her children financially. The state benefits
office had illegally denied Anita access to an
interpreter. PAI advocated on Anita’s behalf,
and helped her to secure food stamp and child
care benefits, so that she could work. PAI also
assisted Anita in getting her driver’s license
renewed after it had been wrongfully terminated,
helping to ensure that Anita had transportation
to work. PAI is currently exploring immigration
options for Anita and her family, based on her
having been a survivor of domestic violence.
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