Black Health Initiative expands social justice services
Planned Parenthood Los Angeles (PPLA) Black Health Initiative recently announced its partnership with the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles (LAFLA) and the UCLA Law Center on Reproductive Health, Law, and Policy (the Center) to provide free legal services to the Inglewood community.
“Through our partnership, we aim to empower individuals to not only be better advocates for themselves and their families but also for their communities as a whole,” said Celinda M. Vázquez, chief external affairs officer for PPLA.
PPLA Inglewood Health Center is the flagship location of the Black Health Initiative, an agency-wide program designed to improve the overall well-being of African-Americans by empowering communities to advocate for improved health outcomes.
PPLA Inglewood, LAFLA, and the center marked the launch of their partnership by hosting the first of three workshops on housing rights, followed in the coming weeks by government benefits, expungements, and family law.
LAFLA is a nonprofit law firm that seeks to achieve equal justice for people living in poverty across Greater Los Angeles through direct representation, systems change, and community education. The partnership expands LAFLA’s unique combination of neighborhood offices, courthouse self-help centers, and domestic violence clinics at the forefront of change in diverse communities.
“The Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles partnership with Planned Parenthood’s Black Health Initiative is vital in ensuring that under-resourced communities have access to the legal and healthcare resources they need,” stated Silvia Argueta, executive director of LAFLA.
“Together, we are working to break down barriers and empower individuals to advocate for their rights and well-being. This partnership is crucial in the fight for equity and justice.” Every year, LAFLA provides free, high-quality legal services to more than 100,000 residents with limited finances across Greater Los Angeles.
The center is an interdisciplinary, national academic research center designed to train future reproductive law and policy leaders while empowering the advocates and scholars of today. Its partnership with PPLA allows UCLA Law students to better understand the challenges under-resourced communities face due to legal issues.
“We are proud to partner with LAFLA and PPLA to advance reproductive justice for the Inglewood community,” said Grace Meng, director of the Judge Rand Schrader Pro Bono Program at UCLA Law. “We are excited to see the impact this project will have on the community’s reproductive health outcomes and for UCLA Law students to participate in a truly innovative project.”
The Inglewood Community Center and the Black Health Initiative reinforce PPLA’s commitment to providing Black and Brown communities with the resources needed to combat social and racial inequities by offering sexual and reproductive healthcare, prenatal care, behavioral health services, men’s and women’s health screenings, community education and now legal services from LAFLA in conjunction with the Law Center on Reproductive Health, Law, and Policy.
For services not provided at the community center, community members will be referred to additional support that is accessible, culturally specific, and drives overall health, well-being, and racial justice.
Learn about LAFLA at https://lafla.org/ or call (800)-399-4529.
Our Weekly coverage of local news in Los Angeles County is supported by the Ethnic Media Sustainability Initiative, a program created by California Black Media and Ethnic Media Services to support minority-owned-and-operated community newspapers across California.
