Our Four Villages Employment Law Clinic is going strong!
Nadine Blum
Our Four Villages Employment Law Clinic: 18 Months, 25 Clients and counting
In late 2011, our firm was approached by the Four Villages Community Health Centre to establish and staff an employment law clinic for its clients. We thought it was a great idea, and entered into an agreement, brokered by Pro Bono Law Ontario, to provide free summary employment law advice and referrals to low-income clients of Four Villages.
Four Villages is a non-profit, primary health care facility serving the areas bounded by the Humber River, Roncesvalles Avenue, Lake Ontario and St. Clair Avenue West. Their interdisciplinary team of interdisciplinary team of health professionals (including doctors, nurse practitioners, registered nurses, chiropodists, physiotherapists, occupational therapist, dietitians, social workers and community health workers) works to provide coordinated services and programs for all ages, with a focus on isolated individuals, seniors, people living with chronic illness and/or disability, families with children, youth and newcomers.
The legal clinic launched in January 2012, and as of the end of June of this year, approximately twenty-five clients have been referred to us for employment advice in a variety of areas, including human rights, wrongful dismissal, long-term disability, and health and safety issues.
During the first year of the clinic, our lawyers attended the 4 Villages site and held a drop-in clinic every second month. However, as of January of this year, in order to increase the accessibility of the clinic, Four Villages refers clients to us on a rolling basis, and we arrange to meet with them, either in person or by phone, as needed.
Some of the other organizations and initiatives supported by our firm and its individual lawyers can be found here.