Published January, 2007

The Asthma Crisis in Low-Income Communities of Color: Using the Law as a Tool for Promoting Public Health, Alina Das, 31 N.Y.U. Rev. L. & Soc. Change 273 (2007)

This article demonstrates the vital role that legal advocacy can play in improving the public health of low-income and minority communities. Using the example of asthma, which disproportionately affects low-income communities, African Americans, and Latinos, the author argues that public health initiatives alone is insufficient to address this disparity without strong legal advocacy. The article provides examples of successful legal-medical partnerships in which often a simple phone call from an attorney can improve the conditions that cause individuals' health to suffer. It argues that legal advocacy is particularly useful for addressing the health outcomes by tackling disability rights, inadequate health care access, substandard housing, and environmental hazards.

For a copy of this resource, send an e-mail to [email protected] and include "resource request" in the subject line.