The Legal Health Check-Up project is being developed by Halton Community Legal Services (HCLS), a small clinic that is part of the Legal Aid Ontario community clinic system. The intermediary partnerships that are the foundation of the Legal Health Check-Up (LHC) project are a solid platform for developing a legal service delivery model targeted at people who are the most disadvantaged that includes the pillars of outreach, integrated and holistic service.
The preliminary research on the pilot phase of the project unearthed an interesting perspective on early intervention and crisis prevention.The qualitative data from the intermediary interviews suggests that crisis is normal in the lives of highly disadvantaged people. If crisis is boiling over, their lives are constantly on simmer. Early intervention means detecting a crisis as early as possible and providing help that may bring it under control.
A summary of the Legal Health Check-Up Project can be found here.