Partnerships between health care and the legal sector in Ontario: What’s next

Complex social factors such as precarious housing, poverty, discrimination, precarious immigration status, and intimate partner violence can often lead to legal issues that have a significant impact on health. Health and justice partnerships involve health care and legal practitioners working together to find solutions to address factors that can contribute to poor health.   

In Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States, this interdisciplinary model has been successful at promoting individual and community health as well as at addressing health inequities. 

Join our expert panelists to hear about the role that health and justice partnerships can play in a strong public health care system and in improving health outcomes for community members. Panelists include Lee Ann Chapman, Michele Leering, and Dr. Rami Shoucri. 

Lee Ann Chapman, B.A., J.D.

Lee Ann Chapman is the Pro Bono Ontario lawyer at The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) in Toronto. She is the originating lawyer at SickKids Family Legal Health Program, established in 2009. The program provides free legal services to patients and families at SickKids and addresses legal impediments to child health. As part of the program, she provides legal education to staff, as well as advocates for law reform at provincial and federal levels with respect to the needs and rights of children. Before joining SickKids, she was a lawyer at Justice for Children and Youth, where she represented young people on legal matters at all levels of courts and tribunals.

Michele Leering, BA, LLB, MAdEd, PhD, CM

Michele Leering is the long-time Executive Director and a lawyer with the Community Advocacy & Legal Centre (CALC) in Belleville. With the support of local community health centres, Family Health Teams, and a nurse practitioner clinic in the three counties CALC serves in southeastern Ontario, CALC launched their first justice and health partnerships in 2015. Amongst other benefits, these initiatives have increased the possibility of early intervention and prevention of clusters of legal problems and rights violations that compromise the health of individuals and communities. Michele researches the impact of the health and justice approach in four countries and is passionate about growing a cross-disciplinary health and justice movement.

Dr. Rami Shoucri, MD, LLM, JD, CCFP

Rami Shoucri has been a family physician at the St. Michael’s Hospital Academic Family Health Team in Toronto since 2016. He is also an Assistant Professor in the Department of Family and Community Medicine and Adjunct member at the Faculty of Law at the University of Toronto. Prior to his medical training, Rami completed undergraduate and graduate degrees in law. His work at St. Mike’s supported a successful application for funding from Legal Aid Ontario to develop a Medical Legal Partnership, now called the Health Justice Program (HJP). This project is a partnership between St. Michael’s Hospital and ARCH Disability Law Centre, Aboriginal Legal Services Toronto, HIV & AIDS Legal Clinic of Ontario, and Neighbourhood Legal Services. He has proudly served as the Clinical Champion for the HJP since December 2016.

*The Ontario Health and Justice Community of Practice is a province-wide network of legal and health practitioners who promote the health and justice area of practice through access to expertise, support and tools.

An application for CPD accreditation with the LSO has been made and is pending. 

Questions for our presenters?

Send them to helen.anderson@cleo.on.ca in advance or submit them during the webinar. Please note, the presenters are unable to answer specific questions about your clients’ situations.  

 

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Generously supported by The Law Foundation of Ontario and Department of Justice Canada