Featured hero image

Justice Connect and cohealth win the VicHealth award for Improving Health Equity

8 Dec 2017

Last week, Justice Connect and cohealth won a VicHealth award for improving health equity. We’re honoured to empower older people to take control of their lives. Receiving this award was a welcome recognition of our work.

At Justice Connect, we believe everyone deserves a fair chance at a better life. That’s why we work to provide people with access to legal services when they need them most. In doing this we empower older people to take control of their lives. We’ve worked hard to partner with healthcare providers, like cohealth, to embed lawyers in healthcare settings.

We’ve seen first-hand the impact these Health Justice Partnerships can have on people’s lives. We’re proud to have our impact recognised.

We’re improving health equity for older Victorians

The VicHealth Awards encourages Victorians to promote better health and well-being within their communities.

Our Health Justice Partnership was a joint winner of the Improving Health Equity award, presented by Hon Jill Hennessy MP, Victorian Minister for Health. This VicHealth award recognises projects that reduce social disadvantage and create a more even distribution of good health in our community. Thanks to our partnership between Seniors Law and cohealth, we’ve done just that. By embedding lawyers into health care teams, we can help people access support when faced with age-related legal issues, including elder abuse.

We aim to provide dignity, autonomy and improved wellbeing

Working together, Seniors Law and cohealth aim to reach older people who are experiencing, or at risk of experiencing, elder abuse, or other legal issues associated with ageing, and who can’t afford a lawyer.

This year, our partnership with cohealth had a significant impact on the lives of older people. We were able to provide legal services to people who would otherwise have no access. Thanks to cohealth and Justice Connect, she was able to reclaim autonomy over her affairs and access legal advice in a safe space, away from her controlling partner. Stories like these show just how critical Health Justice Partnerships are for our community.

Congratulations to all the VicHealth Award winners

We aren’t the only ones working on health equity projects. Benalla Health also co-won the award for their “Grow Your Own” project, which engages disadvantaged families with wicking garden beds. The award recognised their partnership with the St Vincent de Paul Society of Benalla, Benalla Health and Beechworth Corrections Centre. Congratulations to everyone involved!

Many other very worthy projects were also nominated. Learn more about the other nominees’ incredible work on the VicHealth website.

Thank you to everyone involved!

We would like to thank the Victorian Legal Services Board and Commissioner’s Grants Program who fund the Health Justice Partnership at cohealth. Without their support this work would not have been possible.

We would also like to sincerely thank everyone who has supported this project, and our other Health Justice Partnerships with St Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne, Caulfield Hospital and St Vincent’s Health Network Sydney.

 

Read more of our latest Fair Matters articles