About

The Community Health Law Partnership (Community HeLP) is a two-semester legal clinic at the University of Georgia School of Law that focuses on the intersection of immigration status and health.

Working under the supervision of Professor Jason A. Cade and staff attorney Kristen Shepherd, second and third year law students engage in a variety of interdisciplinary advocacy, including humanitarian and family-based immigration benefits, advocacy on behalf of immigrant detainees, and public education on issues at the intersection of health and immigration.

The clinic has represented women alleging medical abuse and neglect in a Georgia detention center, noncitizen workers hurt by a gas leak at poultry plant, asylum seekers, families and individuals fleeing violence here and abroad, and other clients whose health and well-being are affected by social determinants that have legal solutions.

Clinic students have also engaged in advocacy involving access to food stamps, disability rights, advanced care directives, housing, and other issues affecting legally-underserved communities. Community HeLP regularly works with graduate students, faculty, and other professionals from non-legal fields, which enhances the ability to advocate effectively for clients and teaches valuable lawyering skills to students enrolled in the clinic.