Those living in rural areas face several challenges when it comes to accessing legal care; challenges that oftentimes affect their health and can prevent them from getting out of unsafe situations.
A model that’s been successful in Alaska may address some of those legal challenges. Michele Statz, associate professor at the University of Minnesota Medical School, refers to them as “health harming legal needs.”
Statz has conducted research on access to civil justice in rural, tribal and state court jurisdictions, primarily across northern Minnesota and northern Wisconsin. She has noticed that statewide solutions don’t always address the challenges that rural communities face when seeking legal care.
“The prevailing ‘access to justice’ (initiatives) are almost unfailingly designed by people in urban areas with urban populations in mind,” she said.
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Statz views legal care as something that can determine someone’s future outcomes, not just job or housing opportunities, but even one’s health.
“If (these issues) are not addressed in a timely and accountable and trusted way, they often compound existing health issues or introduce brand new health problems for individuals and families,” Statz said. “I see that as a crisis when it comes to health and well-being not only in that immediate moment, but also there are profound health implications for not being able to address the fact that your utilities have been shut off in the winter, or the fact...
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