Indianapolis, Oct. 28, 2020 – The Eskenazi Health Foundation Board of Directors has approved a $300,000 grant to support a new housing rights and eviction helpline.
The Eskenazi Health Medical-Legal Partnership’s Housing Rights & Eviction Helpline is a partnership between Eskenazi Health and Indiana Legal Services, a not-for-profit law firm and the largest provider of free civil legal assistance to eligible low-income people throughout the state of Indiana.
In recent months, the coronavirus pandemic has exacerbated existing housing instability. In a survey conducted by Stout Risius Ross, 42 percent of Indiana rental households are currently at risk of eviction.
“Our patients sometimes face medical-legal issues they are unable to address on their own, so we have created the Eskenazi Health Medical-Legal Partnership’s Housing Rights & Eviction Helpline to provide them with the invaluable expert legal assistance they require when the need arises,” said Lisa Harris, M.D., CEO of Eskenazi Health.
The Eskenazi Health Medical-Legal Partnership addresses health-harming social needs by leveraging legal services and expertise to advance individual and population health. Year after year, rental housing instability continues to be the number one patient legal need at Eskenazi Health.
“We’re so pleased that this grant from the Eskenazi Health Foundation allows Indiana Legal Services to add a new dimension to our ongoing partnership with Eskenazi Health, assisting patients threatened with eviction and housing insecurity,” said Jon Laramore, Executive Director of Indiana Legal Services. “Secure, safe, and healthy housing is a key factor in protecting these patients’ health.”
The Housing Rights & Eviction Helpline is just the latest feature of what Eskenazi Health is doing to address social determinants of health. Already a local and national leader in addressing social determinants, in late 2019, the Eskenazi Health Foundation Board of Directors approved a $500,000 grant for Eskenazi Health to accelerate the integration of social determinants of health into clinical care.
“During these unusual and stressful times, the Eskenazi Health Medical-Legal Partnership has been busier than ever before,” said Anna Kirkman, senior counsel with Eskenazi Health. “We’re grateful to the Eskenazi Health Foundation Board for their generous donation that will help us continue the work we do for our patients who rely on us for legal assistance by bringing additional resources to our disposal.”
The Neighborhood Christian Legal Clinic will also partner with Eskenazi Health on this effort. To contact the Eskenazi Health Medical-Legal Partnership’s Housing Rights & Eviction Helpline please call 317.536.1387. For more information on the Eskenazi Health Medical-Legal Partnership, visit: https://www.eskenazihealth.edu/programs/medical-legal-partnership.
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Indiana Legal Services, Inc., is the largest provider of free civil legal assistance to low-income people in Indiana. ILS helps clients who are faced with legal problems that harm their ability to have such basics as food, shelter, income, medical care, or personal safety. The nonprofit organization handles cases involving domestic violence, housing, consumer law, access to health care, LGBTQ+ discrimination, and access to government benefits. It does not handle criminal matters. ILS was established in 1966, and today serves clients in all 92 Indiana counties. The mission of ILS is “to use the law to fight poverty, empower clients, and improve access to justice.” Learn more at www.indianalegalservices.org.
Eskenazi Health Foundation was established as a 501(c) (3) in 1985. The Foundation inspires, energizes and promotes a vital, healthy Indianapolis community by providing strategic guidance and philanthropic resources to Eskenazi Health and Health & Hospital Corporation of Marion County (HHC). Charged with helping Eskenazi Health and HHC reach their full potential, the Eskenazi Health Foundation funds key health care initiatives and programs through its philanthropic support; educates the community about the impact of philanthropy on the life-changing work of Eskenazi Health and HHC; provides meaningful opportunities for donor engagement; and grows the strategic impact of the Foundation Board. To learn more about the Eskenazi Health Foundation, please visit www.EskenaziHealthFoundation.org.
For more than 160 years, Eskenazi Health has provided high-quality, cost-effective, patient-centered health care to Central Indiana. Accredited by The Joint Commission, nationally recognized programs include a Level I trauma center, regional burn center, comprehensive senior care program, women’s and children’s services, teen and adolescent care programs, Lifestyle Health & Wellness Center, Sandra Eskenazi Mental Health Center, and a network of primary care sites located throughout the neighborhoods of Indianapolis known as Eskenazi Health Center. In partnership with the Regenstrief Institute, Eskenazi Health conducts groundbreaking work that informs health information technology around the globe. Eskenazi Health also serves as the sponsoring hospital for Indianapolis Emergency Medical Services. As the public hospital division of the Health & Hospital Corporation of Marion County (HHC), Eskenazi Health partners with the Indiana University School of Medicine whose physicians provide a comprehensive range of primary and specialty care services. In 2013, the Sidney & Lois Eskenazi Hospital opened, providing a new modern and efficient facility and becoming Central Indiana’s first Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED®) Gold health care campus. Eskenazi Health has been named one of Becker’s Hospital Review’s “150 Top Places to Work in Healthcare” for the past four consecutive years.
CONTACT: Tom Surber
Phone: 317.880.4793
Cell: 317.402.9327
Email: thomas.surber@eskenazihealth.edu