PRESS RELEASE—Health New England grant helps Volunteers in Medicine Berkshires bring legal aid to health clinics to help immigrants and refugees
$50,000 grant also supports trauma-informed health care training.
SPRINGFIELD, GREAT BARRINGTON, AND PITTSFIELD, MA – (October 20, 2023) – A $50,000 grant from Health New England will empower Volunteers in Medicine Berkshires (VIM) to add legal services to the clinical setting and build a Medical/Legal/Behavioral Health Care Program that includes trauma-informed care training for all health care professionals.
VIM, which offers free health care to those ineligible for health insurance at their clinic in Great Barrington, has seen an increase in the number of immigrants and refugees seeking care. VIM is opening a second care center in Pittsfield in early 2024.
Gov. Maura Healy in August declared a state of emergency related to the influx of immigrants and refugees. She called upon organizations to help meet their basic needs. By integrating medical and legal services with its current social determinants of health program—which addresses the factors that lead to overall health, like housing, employment, and food security—VIM aims to provide a comprehensive support system. Individuals are empowered to access humanitarian protection programs that assist with immigration status adjustment and pathways to citizenship while improving health outcomes, increasing their stability and ability to thrive.
Health New England’s Where Health Matter grant will help pay for the program.
“Health New England invests in the communities we serve. We value our immigrant and refugee population and are proud to help VIM bring needed services to help them navigate the road to citizenship,” said Richard Swift, president and CEO of Health New England.
Offering legal help is an extension of VIM’s commitment to whole-person health. “Legal status and legal issues are a huge determinant of someone’s health,” said Ilana Steinhauer, executive director of VIM. “By offering legal support we can help immigrants and refugees manage an often confusing immigration system as they move toward citizenship and add to the richness of our communities.”
Additional behavioral health training will help VIM’s staff and volunteers address the effects of trauma and persecution many immigrants have faced while helping them build cases for asylum. Harrowing journeys, corruption, and unwelcoming treatment in the U.S. can have devastating impacts on mental health, Steinhauer said. The information patients provide to health care professionals can be essential to building their asylum cases. Effective treatment can both ease mental distress and increase legal stability.
VIM will begin by studying models for legal-medical partnerships to find the best way to integrate legal services into overall care. They anticipate legal services will be in place in a few months.
Health New England, a Baystate Health-owned not-for-profit health plan, continues to invest in the health and well-being of the people in the communities it serves. In its fifth year, Health New England’s Where Health Matters grants have provided more than $1.2 million in funding to nonprofits in Western and Central Massachusetts.
About Health New England
Based in Springfield, Massachusetts, Health New England is a not-for-profit health plan serving members in Massachusetts and Connecticut. A wholly owned subsidiary of Baystate Health, Health New England offers a range of health care plans in the commercial, Medicaid and Medicare markets. For more information, visit healthnewengland.org.