| The Legal Service & Client
Advocacy Department
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.
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 am – 12:15 pm and 2 pm – 5:15 pm every Tuesday. In order to
meet with an attorney, you must be a registered client of GMHC.
If you are not registered, you may register by coming to the Michael
Palm Center on the fifth floor Monday – Thursday from 10 am to 1 pm.
You must bring proof of your HIV status (such as an M11q form or a
doctor's letter) as well as any documents related to your legal
issue. Once you have registered as a client, if you need advice
with Immigration or Estate Planning, please call 212.367.1040
for an appointment.
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 am – 12:30 pm, closed
Friday) Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10 am to 1 pm. . 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) Wednesdays from 2 pm – 5:30 pm 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.
© 2008 Gay Men's Health Crisis
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