FREE EVICTION LAWYERS WERE LINKED TO FEWER ER VISITS IN NYC'S HIGHEST-RISK NEIGHBORHOODS.
Housing stability may be health care.
Researchers used the staggered rollout of New York City's tenant right-to-counsel program as a natural experiment and analyzed more than 8 million emergency-department visits.
WHAT HAPPENED
Across all covered ZIP codes, researchers estimated only a slight overall drop. But in the first phase—neighborhoods with the highest eviction risk—the program was associated with more than 26 fewer ED visits per 10,000 residents. Later rollout areas were largely unchanged.
WHY THIS IS HOPESLOP
An eviction-prevention lawyer is not a doctor, but stable housing changes the conditions in which health succeeds or fails. The finding suggests civil legal aid can carry public-health value beyond the courtroom.
ORIGINAL SOURCEUCLA HealthRead the original report
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