New York, Oct. 11, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Today, the Legal Action Center is launching its new “No Health = No Justice Campaign”, a multi-state advocacy and organizing strategy to support decarceration efforts to ensure that people are no longer criminalized for conditions related to their health.
The Campaign will address the intersection of historic racism in the health care and criminal justice systems, which together make life difficult and disempowering, and too often deadly, for people of color in the U.S.
Tracie Gardner, Vice President of Policy Advocacy at the Legal Action Center says, “The No Health = No Justice Campaign” is a natural outgrowth of work that Legal Action Center has been doing for nearly 50 years to dismantle systemic barriers that are rooted in racist and punitive policies that perpetuate disparities in healthcare, justice and opportunities.” She adds “LAC brings a deep understanding of health care and criminal justice policies and practices and how to move these large, complex sectors toward coordinated and fundamental change. The No Health = No Justice Campaign brings these forces together to create radical reform and build a bridge to the civil rights that far too many communities have been systematically denied.”
As part of this initiative, we have created two critical resources for advocates, directly impacted individuals, policy-makers and other stakeholders that are also being released today:
HEALTH AND JUSTICE: BRIDGING THE GAP:
Lessons from New York State Initiatives to Provide Access to Care After Incarceration
This report discusses the overlap between community and correctional health. It discusses: 1) how New York has leveraged new laws and opportunities into innovations, 2) outcomes achieved 3) how obstacles were overcome 4) remaining challenges and 5) recommendations for policymakers and others stakeholders on the basic principles and mechanisms that can help any jurisdiction begin to successfully address insurance enrollment and care linkage challenges for people in the criminal justice system as they move from punishment to health.
WHERE DO THEY STAND IN 2018?
An Issue Guide with Candidate Questions to Promote Health Care and Access to Opportunities for Justice-Involved Individuals
This voter guide provides background information and suggested questions voters can ask their candidates on health and criminal justice issues. It highlights key issue areas that the No Health = No Justice Campaign will focus on, and it will be the first of many components of the Campaign’s strategy.
More information about the Campaign, its focus and lens, and how to get involved can be found on the website www.lachealthandjustice.org.
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ABOUT THE LEGAL ACTION CENTER: ABOUT THE LEGAL ACTION CENTER: For over 40 years, Legal Action Center (LAC) has worked at the intersection of the health care and criminal justice systems to elevate the human rights of people oppressed by both. We have consistently led the way in developing cross-sector initiatives. From driving advocacy to reform New York’s Rockefeller drug laws to helping states create policies that link justice-involved individuals to Medicaid and coordinated health care to eliminating barriers facing people with criminal records, no other organization understands the policies and practices at this intersection better than LAC.
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