Article: Survey of homeless service sites found high prevelance of civil legal issues among patients

Wednesday, February 8, 2017

By Jack Tsai, Darlene Jenkins, & Ellen Lawton — American Journal of Public Health

Download the full article, "Civil Legal Services and Medical-Legal Partnerships Needed by the Homeless Population: A National Survey"

Forty-eight homeless service sites across 26 states were surveyed about their needs, attitudes, and practices related to civil legal issues, including medical-legal partnerships. The survey found that more than 90% of the homeless service sites reported that their patients experienced at least one civil legal issue, particularly around housing, employment, health insurance, and disability benefits. However, only half of all sites reported screening patients for civil legal issues, and only 10 percent had a medical-legal partnership.