Southern Minnesota Regional Legal Services (SMRLS) and UCare will team up for the first-ever “UCare Healthcare Legal Fair” on Wednesday, June 6, 2018 at the InterContinental Saint Paul Riverfront Hotel. This free resource and education event aims to inform the public about the connection between their health and wellbeing and their legal needs.

Free Admission
Date: Wednesday, June 6, 2018
Time: 8:30 a.m. to noon. Keynote address at 9:30 a.m.
Location: InterContinental Saint Paul Riverfront Hotel, 11 E Kellogg Blvd.

Admission is free and open to the public, but pre-registration is required before Thursday, May 31 to participate in the free wills and estate planning clinic, which will help participants create free wills and healthcare directives on the spot. Pre-registration is also required for the “legal checkup” clinic. A “legal checkup” is designed to help participants identify issues in their lives for which there may be a legal solution, and help them identify steps they can take to solve them.

Doors open to the public at 8:30 a.m. Attendees will enjoy a variety of door prizes, giveaways and a complimentary continental breakfast. Browse resource tables from community partners such as: Meals on Wheels, Twin Cities Lutheran Social Services, Wilder Programs, the Social Security Administration, Hunger Solutions, MetroTransit, CLUES, Senior Linkage Line, and Bethesda Family Medicine Clinic. UCare will provide “Ask a Pharmacist” and “Ask a Health Insurance Expert” booths to answer questions about medications and health coverage needs.

At 9:30, Dr. Kathryn Freeman from the Bethesda Family Medicine Clinic will give a keynote presentation about how legal needs affect a patient’s health.

To register for a legal clinic or to get more information, contact Andrea Palumbo at Southern Minnesota Regional Legal Services at 651-222-5863 or andrea.palumbo@smrls.org.

How are your legal needs and health connected? 

In recent years, the medical community has recognized that many of their patients’ health problems may be better addressed through legal solutions. For example, unhealthy housing conditions like toxic mold or broken heat systems cause health problems. The legal system can help the patient enforce their legal rights to safe housing. A similar pattern exists with abusive relationships that cause physical harm, stress, and anxiety. Patients have legal protections to keep themselves and their families safe.