Eskenazi Health Grant to Address Housing Rights

A $300,000 grant has been approved by the Eskenazi Health Foundation Board of Directors to support a housing rights and eviction helpline. The helpline is a partnership between Eskenazi Health and non-profit Indiana Legal Services.

The foundation says the coronavirus has deepened housing instability issues, and a survey conducted by Stout Risius Ross found 42 percent of Indiana rental homes 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., chief executive officer of Eskenazi Health.

Eskenazi Health says rental housing instability is the number one patient legal need in their system.

“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. 

The foundation is also working with the Neighborhood Christian Legal Clinic on the housing effort. For more information on the medical-legal partnership, click here.