Legal Council for Health Justice |

Moving 2017

Legal Council for Health Justice has moved its office as of Feb. 3, 2017. Please find us in our new home at: 17 N. State Street, Suite 900 Chicago, IL...

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We Will Fight

Dear friend, Our supporters make all the difference in the lives of the Council’s clients. We value our clients, and we value you. This letter is more than an appeal, it’s a call to action! For all our progress over the years—and there is no way to sugar coat this—we are suddenly entering into a dark, uncertain time that will have a negative impact on our clients, as well as millions of Illinoisans. So right now I’m asking for your support—donate, volunteer, speak up—in order to protect the most vulnerable among us. Your support allows the Council to help those who are often least able to help themselves. Because of you, a record number of individuals this past year received free, expert legal help from the Council. Our work has led to major successes, including significantly expanding access to life-saving healthcare and guaranteeing legal protections from discrimination. But we know that the next president and many in Congress wish to repeal the Affordable Care Act, slash funding for social services for the poor, and chip away at civil rights for scores of Americans. These cuts will have devastating consequences for the Legal Council’s clients, so will you stand with us as we fight on behalf of those in need? With the looming cuts and challenges, our services will be in demand more than ever before. To help us continue making a difference in the lives of those who are least able to help themselves, please make a year-end gift of $25, $50, $100, $250 or more. Some additional highlights that are possible because of your support: Our HIV program staff successfully negotiated with the Illinois Department of Public Health to prevent the termination of life-saving insurance premium assistance to HIV-positive individuals. We greatly expanded services to people at risk for HIV seeking access to PrEP, a medication regimen that is highly effective in reducing infection rates. Nationally, 70% of disability benefit claims are denied, while our homeless program has a 90% client success rate. I am so grateful for your support. Without you, we wouldn’t be able to help the nearly 2,000 clients whom the Council will assist this year. No matter what, the Council will continue to stand firm, fight, and never give up. Thank you in advance for your gift. Onward and upward, Tom Yates, Executive Director P.S. If you prefer, call 312-427-8990 to make your gift. Please also volunteer and speak up against bigotry and...

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Justin’s 25 for 25

June 1, 2016 Dear Friends, Family, and Colleagues: In my first week at AIDS Legal Council, almost exactly 25 years ago, I took two calls back to back. First, a successful LaSalle Street banker told me that after his landlord found out he had HIV, the locks on his apartment were changed, his possessions thrown in the alley, his car tires slashed. Reeling from that conversation, I took a second call. A man needed a simple will to ensure his meager possessions would go to his niece, the only family member who still spoke to him after he was diagnosed with HIV. This second case seemed comparatively easy, until he handed the phone to his nurse – it turned out the man was hospitalized – who explained in hushed tones that her patient wouldn’t last the night. Within minutes I found an attorney at a big law firm who promised to “wipe the floor with that rental agency” (she did, and charged nothing, like so many attorneys over the years). Then the legal director and I jumped on the train to see our hospitalized client. He’d been a day laborer all his adult life. Now he was exhausted and emaciated – there was almost nothing left of him. We completed his will, and as we were leaving he said to me, “I think that’s the only thing in my life I ever finished.” That was a typical day in the early years of AIDS Legal Council. The mistreatment of people with HIV was rampant, pernicious, and widespread. In addition to daily indignities, people with HIV faced extremely uncertain futures. Our clients and colleagues died with numbing regularity. Today, as I’m about to celebrate 25 years as a legal advocate with the Council – July 1 is the official anniversary date – the outlook for most people with HIV is very different. Someone diagnosed with HIV can now reasonably expect a normal lifespan. This sea change is due not only to advances in medicine but, just as importantly, advances in social service advocacy. It’s taken an army of lawyers, paralegals, social workers, case managers, peer educators, activists, and advocates to stabilize the lives of people with HIV, especially when those lives are hobbled by generational poverty, mental illness, and governmental neglect. Without a stable life, you can’t make regular doctor appointments, adhere to a complicated pharmaceutical regimen, or access the medical care that can save your life. Once upon a...

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New name, same heart

Historically, AIDS Legal Council of Chicago has been the only agency in Illinois devoted exclusively to serving the legal needs of men, women, and children with HIV. Council staff and volunteers serve clients and community through individual advice and representation; training and outreach to clients and service providers; individual and impact litigation; and administrative and legislative advocacy. Recently we expanded our mission to to also stand up for individuals living with mental illness and experiencing homelessness, and to advocate for children with disabilities and chronic health conditions. In that time we’ve also expanded our work serving low-income people with HIV. We’ve started new free legal clinics all over the city and successfully fought policies that discriminate against people with HIV. To reflect these changes, we are changing our name from AIDS Legal Council of Chicago to Legal Council for Health Justice. We’ve got a lot of work ahead of us. In the coming months, we will debut a new logo, website, and much more! We wish to remind all of our past and present supporters and stakeholders that no matter how they know us, that our new name and expanded mission will help all of our three strong programs – AIDS Legal Council, the Homeless Outreach Project and Chicago Medical-Legal Partnership for Children – to grow and flourish. We hope you love the new name as much as we do, and hope you will be our staunch partner in building healthier and happier tomorrows for people challenged by chronic, disabling, and stigmatized health and social conditions....

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About Us

Legal Council for Health Justice conducts education, outreach, and advocacy to address discrimination, disadvantage, and disparities in health, wealth, and well-being across the lifespan of vulnerable populations. We target people impacted by chronic, disabling and stigmatizing health and social conditions to empower them to lead fulfilling lives, reach their self-determined goals, and secure and plan their futures. Our award-winning medical-legal partnership programs provide highly specialized “legal care” in partnership with health and community providers to protect individual rights and maximize access to health, education, and a responsible safety net.

Over the years, our legal team has been on the forefront of shaping, expanding, and defending against discrimination in every major health care program in Illinois, and providing millions of vulnerable adults and children with access to health coverage and economic security.