Our legal team is here to help you break through legal barriers to achieve improved health and wellness outcomes and all services are provided free of charge.
We can help with health insurance appeals, work disputes, discrimination, Social Security disability applications and appeals, public benefits appeals (ADAP, Medicaid, Medicare, SNAP/Food Stamps), immigration matters, powers of attorney and wills, elder issues, medical privacy, and identity documents, among other problems.
Contact Us
If you are facing any of the legal issues described above, call our Legal Services program at 202.939.7630 to complete an intake interview or email us at contact-legal@whitman-walker.org.
Please note that all clients must complete a thorough intake interview for their case to be considered. Intakes can be completed by phone. We offer interpretation services, including ASL, for all clients.
Our full range of services include:
Consumer/Debtor Rights
Consumer/Debtor Rights including medical debt and student loan disability discharge.
Disability Insurance
Disability Insurance including assistance with initial Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) applications, appeals, terminations, overpayments and more. Assistance with private disability is also available.
Discrimination
Discrimination based on HIV status, sexual orientation, or gender identity in housing, education, employment, public accommodations, and healthcare. Our lawyers can counsel you on your legal rights in the workplace, at school, and your rights to appropriate, non-discriminatory healthcare, as well as other legal protections from discrimination based on HIV status, gender identity, and sexual orientation. We represent clients in negotiations with employers, insurance companies, health care providers, educational institutions, and others. We pursue claims at the DC Office of Human Rights, and other civil rights agencies. In some cases, we partner with law firms to prosecute discrimination cases in court.
Immigration
Immigration including asylum, adjustment, naturalization and more. In some cases, we may be able to offer financial assistance with case-related expenses.
Insurance & Benefits
Insurance and Benefits including private insurance and public benefit matters, including DC Alliance, Medicaid (including in-home care), Medicare, Qualified Medicare Beneficiary (QMB), Low Income Subsidy (LIS), AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP), and more. Enrolment and recertification for many of these services are available through our Public Benefits and Insurance Navigation Team. The legal team can assist with coverage disputes and appeals.
Name and Gender Change Services
Having identity documents, Social Security, and other legal records that accurately reflect one’s actual name and gender is critical for transgender people. At Whitman-Walker Health we can help!
We assist clients from DC, Maryland, and Virginia with obtaining name changes and gender marker changes on their legal documents including updating licenses, birth certificates, Social Security records, passports, school records and more.
We offer Name and Gender Change Clinics in collaboration with TransLAW, to provide counseling and assistance with the name and gender change processes, including obtaining court orders, changing drivers’ licenses, passports, birth certificates, and other identity documents and public records. We can also help clients to collect needed letters from your medical providers and to seek assistance with court fees, where appropriate. For direct assistance from our Legal Services team, please email contact-legal@whitman-walker.org or call 202.939.7630 to schedule an intake.
Wills & Powers of Attorney
Healthcare and financial planning for the future are important steps for everyone. Healthcare planning can include giving a person permission to be involved in your current care, deciding who would make decisions for you in an emergency, and instructing future medical providers how you would like to be cared for in an emergency. Financial planning can include creating a general power of attorney that gives someone certain rights to manage your finances immediately, as well as creating a will that says what should happen after you pass away.
Whitman-Walker can help you create all the documents you need to ensure your family and friends have the legal rights you want them to have now, and that you are prepared for whatever the future might bring. Future planning services are available to low-income/asset persons including simple wills, powers of attorney, living wills, advance directives, and more.
Volunteering & Fundraising
Anyone interested in volunteering with us should email us at contact-legal@whitman-walker.org and include your resume, your areas of interest, any relevant experience, your active bar memberships, if any, and your language skills. We are especially in need of Spanish-speaking volunteers. If you are interested in volunteering for Whitman-Walker Health with other programs, please visit our Volunteer page.
We also welcome you to read more about our fundraising efforts which depend on people like you – generous supporters from the legal and queer and allied communities whose gifts enable us to reach nearly 3,000 clients every year. Helping clients keep their jobs by fighting harassment, helping clients keep their housing by solving problems with the Social Security Administration, and helping clients stay safe by securing lawful immigration status or accurate identity documents are all reasons why we do what we do. And you can be a part of this work by giving your time, talent, and resources. We need you! And we thank our amazing community for your generous support going back to 1986!
