GREATER HARTFORD LEGAL AID

Greater Hartford Legal Aid (GHLA) plays two important roles:

They are advocates - primarily lawyers and paralegals - who use their resources and know-how to serve people with little money.
They are equalizers - seeking to equalize power and influence, and see that all are treated justly.

Its good work, along with the work of three other legal aid agencies - Connecticut Legal Services, New Haven Legal Assistance and the Legal Assistance Resource Center of Connecticut - has been enhanced through a $400,000, two-year Connecticut Health Foundation grant that provides general operations support.

"Funding from the foundation gives our consortium the equivalent of five full-time attorneys dedicated to health care work," says GHLA Executive Director Elam Lantz, Jr. "That support, and the extraordinary education, advocacy and technical services the foundation provided, played a huge role in settling a class action suit (Carr v. Wilson-Coker), in which we represented more than 280,000 children.

"This settlement moves us closer to the day children on Medicaid will have the same access to quality, affordable dental services as families with private insurance."

For the foundation, grantees like GHLA are its most important resource for reaching its goals. "They have a proven track record and are aligned with our vision," notes Will Crimi, foundation vice president of program & evaluation.

For GHLA, funding by the foundation and others is indispensible. "It has helped us leverage more than $100 million over the next four to five years in additional benefits for low-income families and children," says Lantz. "That's incredible advocacy."

"The general operation grant we awarded GHLA not only helps them meet the needs of the state's poorest, it also provides flexibility to reprioritize health programs in a way not possible with initiative-oriented funding," adds Crimi. And Lantz agrees: "We are delighted to receive general operations support because it enables us to pick up new issues, with a focus on health care. Frankly, it keeps health care work a top priority in our organization."

www.ghla.org