The Community AdvocacyProgram is funded by:Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
Thompson Hine LLP
Benesch, Attorneys at Law
Calfee, Halter & Griswold LLP
The Callahan Foundation
Charter One Foundation
The Cleveland Foundation
CVS Caremark Charitable Trust
Eaton Corporation
Eva L. and Joseph M. BrueningFoundation
The George Gund Foundation
Harry K. and Emma R. FoxFoundation
The Higley Foundation
Lubrizol Foundation
Saint Luke’s Foundation
Third Federal Foundation
United Black Fund of GreaterCleveland, Inc.
CommunityAdvocacyProgram
A medical-legal partnership ofThe Legal Aid Society of
Cleveland and TheMetroHealth System
March 2010
Law & Medicine Working Together,Seeking Solutions to Patient Problems
The Community Advocacy Program pairs legal and medical professionalsto improve community health in Cleveland, Ohio. Doctors, nurses, andsocial workers from The MetroHealth System team with lawyers from TheLegal Aid Society of Cleveland to overcome legal barriers to patient health.
Achieving and maintaining good health involves more than just finding agood doctor. For many of Cleveland’s low income residents, problemssuch as poor housing, domestic violence, little access to healthy food, andlack of health insurance create barriers to health.
Connecting the Quality of Health to the Quality of Life
MetroHealth doctors identify patients from four vulnerablepopulations – children, the elderly, immigrants, and formerlyincarcerated people – who have legal problems that are barriersto good health.Legal Aid lawyers provide free civil legal services to patients on-site
at four MetroHealth locations in the city of Cleveland – includingfighting illegal evictions, obtaining legal relief for survivors ofdomestic violence, and challenging denials of food stamps andMedicaid.Together, Legal Aid and MetroHealth seek out and advocate for
policy changes that will improve patient and community health.Since 2006, we have helped more than 1000 of Cleveland’s most
vulnerable residents.
Helping Better Health Take Root in Cleveland
The Community Advocacy Program hopes to increase services byexpanding to more MetroHealth locations and serving more patients,including pregnant women, adults with mental health disorders, and thoserecovering from traumatic injuries.
Contact:Mallory Curran, Esq.
Legal DirectorCommunity Advocacy ProgramLegal Aid Society of Cleveland
1223 West Sixth StreetCleveland, OH 44113
E. Harry Walker, M.D.Medical Director
Community Advocacy ProgramThe MetroHealth System
Center for Community Health6835 Broadway AvenueCleveland, OH 44105