Make the Road New York

The Legal and Support Services Department at Make the Road New York tackles poverty from three complementary angles:

We address key income disruptions that keep families in poverty: in particular, exploitative, below-minimum-wage employment and unstable public benefits streams.
We battle poverty's worst effects: hunger, substandard or non-existent housing, and lack of access to decent medical care. Our advocates and attorneys help people navigate the most complex, crucial relationships affecting their lives: relationships with employers; landlords; healthcare and managed care providers; and public benefits agencies.
We work to effect broader reform in the systems that perpetuate and exacerbate poverty, by tying our work to Make the Road New York's community organizing, and by engaging in impact litigation and law reform efforts.

A Holistic Approach
In our history as a neighborhood-based, independent legal and social services provider, Make the Road New York has secured over $2,400,000 in unlawfully withheld wages and government benefits.

Our approach to providing legal and support services recognizes that low-income individuals face interrelated and often impossible dilemmas. Unpaid wages cause families to fall behind on their rent, but employers do not tolerate absences for the purpose of appearing in housing court. Children who must translate for their parents' medical appointments miss school and fall behind. And there simply is not enough hours in the day to apply for food stamps in the morning and make it to your part-time job on time that same afternoon.

Our staff works with each client to identify the range of issues the family is facing. Since families generally interact with the organization repeatedly over time--through our services, organizing, youth programs, and adult education--we are able to build long-term relationships of trust with our clients, facilitating extremely effective issue identification and intervention.

Depending on the needs identified, we can provide emergency food supplies and referrals to an emergency shelter; make phone calls and explain and prepare forms if the person has limited literacy or speaks limited English; appeal an unfair Medicaid decision; and provide legal advice and representation in court. Our attorneys and advocates specialize in the areas of employment, public benefits, disability benefits, housing, and healthcare.

Make the Road New York also provides Facilitated Enrollment services to enroll our clients directly in Medicaid and other public health insurance programs. We are a member of the Robin Hood Foundation Single Stop network.

Neighborhood Roots... Citywide Reach
It is imperative for Make the Road New York to maintain deep connections with our closest neighbors. Our facilities and programs are designed with that in mind. Make the Road New York’s community centers in Queens, Brooklyn, and Staten Island are colorful and vibrant places where New Yorkers can stop in for help completing a Food Stamp application, and then stay to attend computer classes or to work on a campaign to reduce asthma rates - all while their children attend a poetry workshop or other after-school program.

Murals on the walls; a patio where youth practice theater; and the likelihood that on any given day someone will be cooking a meal in our kitchen - all create an atmosphere where neighbors feel at home.

However, Make the Road New York is not JUST a neighborhood organization. Our services and membership are open to any interested New York City resident, and our members hail from all five boroughs. Our employment law work in particular has a citywide scope; we represent workers from areas as diverse as Washington Heights and Coney Island, and we target employers all over New York City.

Enforcing Workplace Rights
Since 1998 Make the Road New York's workplace justice attorneys have specialized in helping low-wage, often immigrant workers collect back pay from unscrupulous employers. To date, we have collected more than $1 million in unpaid and underpaid wages on behalf of New York workers.

Fighting Off Hunger and Homelessness
Our weekly food pantry provides over 300 families each month with assistance in meeting basic nutritional needs. We also help clients apply for, maintain, and correct problems with Food Stamps and other public benefits. We represent clients at hearings, help homeless persons find shelter, and help people access essential services such as job training, child care, domestic violence counseling, psychiatric care, and drug and alcohol treatment. Make the Road New York helps low-income residents recover tens of thousands of dollars in illegally denied benefits each quarter.

We also take on abusive or neglectful landlords, providing legal advice for tenants and, where tenants are ineligible for affordable legal services elsewhere, representing them in housing court. This legal intervention is critical to halting unlawful evictions, especially in areas where gentrification gives landlords a strong incentive to get rid of low-income tenants.

Getting Folks the Healthcare They Need
Our healthcare specialists represent dozens of individuals per month, helping them to access needed medical treatment, obtain health insurance for which they are eligible, and navigate complex hospital and healthcare systems in order to protect the lives and health of themselves and their families. Our representation includes filing grievances with managed care companies and representing Medicaid recipients in Fair Hearings. One of the single biggest causes of personal bankruptcy is healthcare-related debt, and our staff helps New Yorkers access free or low-cost healthcare, obtain insurance, and otherwise avoid, reduce or eliminate debilitating debt.

Helping People Defend Their Own Rights
More than 3,000 people have attended our weekly "Know Your Rights" workshops on topics from "Immigrant Eligibility for Benefits" to "Enforcing the Minimum Wage at your Job." The workshops take place at our offices, integrated into regularly scheduled classes and community meetings, and at schools, churches, partner organizations, and libraries.

We also hold drop-in clinics to train individuals without attorneys to handle their own cases in small claims court. Our staff teaches the client to navigate the entire process--we help the client practice testifying, and we create an evidence packet to present at trial.

Meeting Clients' Needs
Our staff, informational materials, and workshops are completely bilingual in Spanish and English, and our telephone system is easily accessible in both languages.

We conduct interviews at clients' homes when necessary, and can provide car service to court appearances and hearings. We also distribute Metrocards for clients to travel round-trip to our offices.

To make our services accessible to parents of young children and to the working poor, we hold two open clinics per week: one on Monday evenings and one on Thursday afternoons before school lets out. For clients with other conflicts, we are available for weekend appointments.