| Guide to Legal Services and Benefits for
People Living with HIV/AIDS
The Legal Services and Client Advocacy Department at GMHC is staffed by attorneys,
accredited representatives, paralegals and advocates with experience in their designated
areas of expertise. We have been responding to the legal and advocacy needs of people
living with HIV/AIDS since 1983. The Legal Services Unit provides advice and/or
representation in the fields of immigrant legal rights, landlord/tenant, family and
domestic unity law, permanency planning, and employment discrimination. In addition,
services are provided in the areas of SSI/SSDI, estate planning, bankruptcy and private
disability insurance. The Client Advocacy Unit assists and advocates for clients with
issues concerning benefits and entitlements as well as overcoming barriers to healthcare
access. The Department serves over 3,000 clients per year.
What Services Does the Legal Services Unit Provide?
Our services cover a range of legal needs required by our HIV-positive clients as
well as those whose lives are impacted by HIV/AIDS. We provide technical assistance,
legal representation, pro se advice, referrals and forums.
Who May Access the Legal Services Unit?
We provide direct services to people living with HIV/AIDS who live in New York
City and their families and loved ones.
To Whom Do We Provide Technical Assistance and Advice?
We provide technical assistance and advice to any individual infected with, or affected
by, HIV/AIDS, as well as to any organization that provides services to, or has questions
concerning people living with HIV/AIDS. For technical assistance requests,
please call (212) 367-1040.
What Types of Educational Forums Do We Provide?
We provide monthly educational forums covering a broad range of topics. Please call
(212) 367-1040 for exact times, locations, and a confirmation of dates.
Legal Services Educational Forums
Landlord & Tenant
2nd Tuesday of the month
Your Rights and Responsibilities as an HIV-Positive Employee
1st Tuesday of the month
HIV and Your Debts
1st Thursday of the month
Immigration and HIV/Inmigración y el VIH
3rd Thursday of each month, in English and Spanish
Client Advocacy Educational Forums
Benefits Forum
3rd Tuesday of the month
Return to Work Forum
3rd Thursday of the month
Insurance Forum
2nd Tuesday every other month
Managed Health Care Forum
Alternating in Spanish and English. For dates and times, please call (212)
367-1143.
What Areas of Law Does the Legal Services Unit Provide
Assistance With?
The Legal Services Unit of GMHC provides advice and representation for our
HIV-positive clients in the following legal areas:
Discrimination
- Represent clients who have been discriminated against or fear discrimination in
their places of employment, medical offices, housing, and other public accommodations.
- Protect rights to reasonable accommodations for HIV/AIDS illness under the Americans
with Disabilities Act.
Confidentiality
- Advise and represent clients whose HIV diagnosis has been unlawfully disclosed to
others in violation of Article 27F of the Public Health Law.
- Advise clients about the legality of HIV disclosure and provide technical assistance
to organizations and individuals concerning the confidentiality requirements of Article
27F and how to comply with this law.
Employment
- Advise and represent clients who are unable to continue working due to their HIV
illness, and assist clients in negotiating a reasonable accommodation under the Americans
with Disabilities Act.
- Advise clients about the legal consequences of disclosing their HIV status to employers,
and about their rights and responsibilities as an employee.
- Assist clients with all aspects of terminating employment and obtaining private and
government disability.
- Advise clients whose health has improved and are considering returning to work or
accessing work for the first time. Examine legal implications surrounding their disability
and health benefits, their debts, and the practical aspects of entering the work force.
Insurance
- Represent clients whose health, life, and disability benefits have been unlawfully
denied or rescinded.
- Advise clients about the financial and tax consequences of selling their life
insurance policies.
Debt Management
- Advise and represent clients in all aspects of debt management. This includes debts owed
to credit card companies, taxing authorities, mortgagees, and issues concerning school and
other loans.
- File bankruptcy petitions for clients who are contemplating transitioning to work so that
their wages will not be garnished. File bankruptcy petitions for clients who have assets, such
as an apartment or house, to protect them from creditors. Other bankruptcy cases may be filed
depending on individual need.
- Represent clients who are being harassed and sued by their creditors even though they
are 'judgment proof,' and are living on disability and/or other private and public benefits.
- Negotiate with the IRS and NY Department of Taxation when our clients are disabled and
unable to pay their tax debt, and negotiate for clients who are transitioning to work and
need to resolve their tax debt.
Estate planning
- Counsel clients and prepare the necessary estate planning documents that will protect
them and their loved ones should they become incapacitated or die.
- Draft wills, health care proxies, living wills, medical directives, powers of attorney,
affidavits of cremation, and testamentary guardianships. Lesbians, gays and unmarried straight
partners are not recognized as 'next of kin,' and therefore it is imperative that they prepare
wills and advance directives in order to ensure that their partners are adequately protected
and/or have the right to make important medical and financial decisions for them.
Landlord/Tenant
- Represent HIV-positive clients who have been sued by their landlords for non-payment of rent.
Many of these cases involve court appearances, extensive litigation and coordination with HASA
(HIV/AIDS Services Administration).
- Represent clients in holdover proceedings in which a landlord alleges various legal grounds
for terminating a tenancy.
- Represent clients who have the right to succeed to the lease of their partner or other family
member who has died.
- Advise clients who are sick and living in substandard housing that is detrimental to their
health and assist them in suing their landlords, if necessary, to force them to make repairs and
comply with local and state laws.
Family and Domestic Unity Law
- Represent HIV-infected parents in the area of permanency planning, which is planning for the
future care and custody of their children should they become incapacitated or die. Work with the
other GMHC departments that provide services to women and children to ensure that these clients
are receiving the services they need, whether it be emotional support or help in dealing with
issues around disclosure of their HIV status to their family members and children.
- Assist HIV-infected mothers and fathers in gaining custody of their children if they are being
threatened with the loss of their children.
- Assist parents who lost their children to the child welfare system when they were too sick to
care for them.
- Complete adoptions for adoptive parents or other HIV-positive guardians.
- Assist with issues of visitation and custody when a parent is being denied the right to see and
care for their child based solely on the parent being HIV positive.
Immigrant Legal Rights
- Represent HIV-positive clients who are not United States citizens or "Green Card" holders. Assist
them in obtaining an immigration status that will allow them to access food, shelter and medical treatment,
as well as to work and lead productive lives.
- Advocate with the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services (BCIS) on behalf of undocumented
clients in order to obtain immigration status despite their HIV status.
- Assist non-citizens disabled by HIV illness and AIDS to access benefits
- Represent clients at hearings to obtain asylum, legal residency and other benefits
What Services Does the Client Advocacy Unit Provide?
The Client Advocacy Unit provides a continuum of practical and concrete HIV-specific services that
are critical to ensuring that clients access, maintain, and continue receiving uninterrupted, quality
healthcare. We provide advocacy assistance in navigating the maze of government and private bureaucracies
that control the delivery of HIV-specific public benefits, entitlements, and private health care, so that
clients are not left without health care, financial support, food and shelter.
Benefits and Entitlements
- Advise clients about the range of public benefits available to people living with HIV/AIDS.
- Assess individual eligibility for public benefits.
- Support clients in obtaining uninterrupted access to public benefits including Social Security
benefits (SSI, SSDI), Medicaid, Medicare, HASA (formerly DASIS), Food Stamps, and Public Assistance.
- Advise, counsel and represent clients who have been denied SSDI and SSI providing pro se advice
and/or representation before the Social Security Administration. We also advise clients who have been
denied at the reconsideration, or pre-hearing stage of their application process.
- Advise clients whose health has improved and wish to enter or re-enter the workforce, including
impact on their financial and health benefits.
Health Care Access
- Assist in enrolling eligible individuals in AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP), AIDS Health
Insurance Program (AHIP), AIDS Premium Insurance Continuation (APIC), Medicaid, Medicare, and
private health insurance.
- Provide information on and assistance with COBRA insurance, prescription coverage, homecare,
Medicaid, Medicare, nursing homes, hospice care, as well as dental care, and complaints
concerning quality of care and insurance billing.
Managed Care Consumer Assistance Program
- Provide crucial one-on-one assistance in navigating Medicaid, Medicare, ADAP, and private
managed care, including assistance with filling out and tracking applications to ensure timely
delivery of benefits.
- Ensure access to care by advocating with private health, disability insurers, government
agencies and managed care organizations.
- Assist in completing applications and/or appeals of medical coverage denials.
Fact Sheets
The Client Advocacy Unit distributes fact sheets which include user-friendly, updated
information about Medicaid, the AIDS Health Insurance Program, Public Assistance, HASA,
Social Security Disability, Supplemental Security Income, returning to work and the Food
Stamp program, Medicare, COBRA, and ADAP. These fact sheets are available on our website
at http://www.gmhc.org.
How Do I Access the Legal Services Unit?
We are located at GMHC, the Tisch Building, 7th floor, 119 West 24 Street,
New York, NY 10011-1913.
Most legal services can be accessed through our walk-in hours.
Intake hours for all questions and services, except Immigration
and Estate Planning, are from 10:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
and 2:00 – 5:30 p.m. every Tuesday. You must bring
proof of your HIV status (such as a M11q, or a doctor's letter)
as well as any documents related to your legal issue. If you need
advice with Immigration or Estate Planning, please call (212)
367-1040 for an appointment.
GMHC's Legal Services Unit offers various legal services at other sites in the
Bronx, Brooklyn and Queens. In Queens, GMHC partners with Queens Pride House (QPH)
and provides on-site legal services every Friday. QPH is located at 6703
Woodside Avenue. For more information or to find out how to make an appointment
at our borough locations, please call (212) 367-1040.
How Do I Access the Client Advocacy Unit?
Walk-in Services
The Client Advocacy Unit has a walk-in service, where clients can meet with staff of
the Client Advocacy Unit. The walk-in hours are Monday through Thursday,
10:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m., closed Friday. For more information, please
call (212) 367-1040.
Client Advocacy Helpline
The Client Advocacy Unit also operates an information Helpline available to clients
and the general public with questions regarding all aspects of public and private
benefits. The Helpline is open Monday through Friday, 2:00 – 5:30 p.m
. Please call (212) 367-1125.
- Provide up-to-date information concerning HIV-specific financial and health care
benefits to individuals and organizations via the Client Advocacy Unit Helpline.
- Provide referrals to organizations and assistance for people with HIV outside New
York City.
© 2003 Gay Men's Health Crisis
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