Government Benefits
For those who rely on government benefits to access food, health care, and housing, a disruption in benefits can be catastrophic.
Public benefits such as SNAP (food stamps), Medicaid, Medicare, disability benefits, and social security are managed by complex government systems. Many people who are eligible for benefits do not know they are eligible or how to apply. Applications for benefits are routinely incorrectly rejected and require advocacy.
These benefits are lifelines to so many individuals and families experiencing poverty—veterans, seniors, people with disabilities, children, and many others—who rely on them to live full lives.
$5.9M
secured last year in ongoing yearly public benefits for our clients
Services
Our lawyers help clients navigate intricate legal and administrative bureaucratic systems to access the critical services to which they are entitled. NYLAG’s lawyers can help in the following ways:
- Advocating for homecare for seniors to allow them to live safely in their own homes
- Navigating access to shelters for people without homes
- Ensuring that individuals with disabilities receive benefits
- Establishing economic stability for veterans
- Working with immigrants to ensure access to health care, food, and housing
Need free legal services or financial counseling?
Help us provide free legal services to children and adults in need of a lawyer.
NYLAG is part of the solution for people using government benefits.
Opinion: Homeless shelters that make sense: Large, dangerous congregate shelters drive people away
In the New York Daily News, NYLAG’s Deborah Berkman and City Relief’s Josiah Haken explain why the City should invest in non-congregate shelters to better serve New Yorkers experiencing homelessness, especially those who have experienced trauma.
NYLAG Obtains Records From NYC’s Department of Homeless Services That Show Agency Projects Lack of Shelter Capacity
Data obtained by NYLAG through a Freedom of Information Law request shows that, for over six months, New York City’s Department of Homeless Services has projected that its shelters, especially shelters for families with children, will not have enough available beds for all of the New Yorkers who need them.
NY Times: Migrants Protest Move From Midtown Hotel to Barracks-Style Shelter
NYLAG’s Deborah Berkman, supervising attorney in our Shelter Advocacy Initiative, spoke to the New York Times about the immense barriers recent asylum-seekers face in finding housing in New York City.
The work of NYLAG’s Public Benefits Unit is partially funded by Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany (Claims Conference).
