Just Healthy Families
Just Healthy Families is a Health Justice Partnership collaboration by Women’s Legal Service Tasmania and Tasmania Legal Aid that embeds free legal help into health and social service settings with the aim of reducing family violence for all Tasmanians.
Health Justice Partnerships involve legal services working with health and social services to streamline early access to legal help. One in five of the most disadvantaged in our community take no action in response to their legal problems for a range of reasons including stress, time, cost, fear or not realising it is a legal problem. Living in regional and remote areas is also a barrier. When people do seek help, they are more likely to ask a trusted non-legal professional, such as a health or community service provider.
Co-locating the Just Healthy Families legal service in the health service and social service creates an opportunity for early legal invention by making legal services accessible and more responsive.
Our Just Healthy Families lawyers work with Child and Family Learning Centres and Child Health and Parenting Centres across the state, in addition to other health providers. We provide training for the health and social service staff on how to recognise, respond and refer people experiencing family violence, increasing the opportunities for appropriate support and assistance.
How can Just Healthy Families lawyers help?
Just Healthy Families lawyers provide legal information and advice about a range of legal issues, including family violence, family law, tenancy and child protection issues.
The primary focus of Just Healthy Families is to assist people to intervene early in family violence situations. Men who are perpetrators or experiencing family violence can be assisted through referral to Tasmania Legal Aid.
The Just Healthy Families lawyers attend health and social service sites on a regular basis as agreed with the individual service. We provide face to face legal information, advice and assistance to clients, and where appropriate, assist with referrals to other services.
Just Healthy Families lawyers work with strong legal teams at Women’s Legal Service Tasmania and Tasmania Legal Aid to ensure that our clients are well supported if they require ongoing legal services.
Our lawyers are available by phone, email and remote video communications. Clients can make appointments by contacting the lawyer directly or can be referred by the health or social service provider they are visiting.
More Information
Click through the pictures below to download a copy of our brochures, posters and information sheets for the Just Healthy Families program.
The Just Healthy Families Pilot Program is a collaboration between Women’s Legal Service Tasmania and Tasmania Legal Aid, supported by the Tasmanian Community Fund.
