WNCCHS's Medical Legal Partnership: Gigi’s Story

Gigi was referred to Pisgah Legal Services Attorney Brian Dufresne.

Gigi struggles with physical issues and significant mental confusion that she calls “brain fog.” She receives Social Security Disability income but has never been her own “payee” because managing her own money is difficult for her.

Once she moved to Western North Carolina, she tried paying her rent and bills on her own. Then she got sick and hired someone to help clean her home. When they robbed her, Gigi didn’t have the money she needed to pay her rent and fell behind.

Fortunately, Gigi came to Western North Carolina Community Health Services (WNCCHS) for grief counseling. She shared with her caseworker that she was also facing an eviction. Her caseworker knew just want to do.

Thanks to a Medical-Legal Partnership with fellow nonprofit, Pisgah Legal Services (PLS), Gigi was referred to PLS Attorney Brian Dufresne, who works on-site at the Minnie Jones Health Center. This partnership exists to identify the social determinants of health that may be causing a patient harm and seeks to rectify these situations with legal intervention.

When Gigi met Brian, she had one week before she was going to be evicted. The letters she received confused her, and the thought of going to court alone was too overwhelming. “I would have gave up,” she says. “I would have let them evict me.”

Brian was able to slow down the eviction process, negotiate with her landlord to allow her to stay, and help her find rental assistance to catch up on her rent.

Gigi said, “I explained it all to Brian, and we went to court a couple of times. He went out of his way to do extra for me. He’s very thorough and a very good lawyer.”

The Medical-Legal Partnership at WNCCHS also helped Gigi find a new Social Security payee whom she trusts. Now she feels confident that she can pay her rent and not get taken advantage of in the future. She kept her “Section 8” reduced cost apartment and can still live independently in the community.

“I didn’t know how to go about getting a payee of my own. It’s working out wonderful. Laura Anne, she’s like family,” said Gigi.