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Tennessee Justice Center

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211 7th Ave N ste 100, Nashville, TN 37219, USA

EIN Number: 62-1630417

contact information

Phone: 615-255-0331

Hours: Closed

Mon - Fri 9:00 AM - 6:00 PM (EST)

Sat Closed

Sun Closed

Website: https://www.tnjustice.org/

Email: info@tnjustice.org

NTEE Code: P20: Human Service Organizations

MISSION - WHAT WE DO

The Tennessee Justice Center (TJC) uses the law and advocacy to ensure that Tennesseans can meet their most basic needs and have a pathway to opportunity. TJC advocates on behalf of vulnerable Tennesseans in areas of public policy having the greatest impact on their health and welfare; by means which afford clients opportunities to make their own voices heard; and which emphasize collaboration across lines of race, class, and generation. Our clients inspire and drive the work that we do. The Center also supports the work of others engaged in similar advocacy efforts, beyond state boundaries, on behalf of families in need.

SERVICES - HOW WE DO IT

TennCare & the Uninsured: Provide legal assistance and community education with respect to low-income Tennesseans who are seeking health care assistance including 750,000 children enrolled in TennCare. Provide training and technical assistance to community partners to help them leverage our legal knowledge to best serve their clients, patients, and loved ones. Human Services Budget Advocacy: Provide analysis as to the impacts of state budget cuts on social and human services. TJC is providing technical assistance to the non-profit sector and to state officials to mitigate cuts to those programs by ensuring that the state is drawing all federal matching funds for which it is legally eligible. (Technical assistance materials developed by TJC are also being used by nonprofits and state officials in other states confronting similar budget crises.) AskJane! AskJane! is a technology tool which automatically screens individuals for eligibility for TennCare, CoverKids, and other medical assistance programs. AskJane! supplements traditional trainings and will empower more partners to navigate the complex eligibility rules to help families access health coverage. Independence: TJC's advocacy on behalf of older adults and adults with disabilities, Independence helps this population access basic necessities and maintain their independence in the community. TJC enrolls hundreds of seniors and people with disabilities in programs to help them access health care and medications, food, and long-term care. Nutrition Assistance: TJC's nutrition advocacy program supports vital safety net programs like SNAP (formerly food stamps). It also works for state and community based policy improvements such as increased access to school breakfast. General Sessions GPS: Hundreds of thousands of Tennesseans are involved every year in lawsuits in General Sessions Courts, far more than in any other court in our state. Most do not have lawyers and face the difficult challenge of representing themselves. That challenge is greater than it need be, because of confusing, intimidating paperwork and lack of information. General Sessions GPS is a project to help unrepresented litigants navigate the legal process. Funded by the Tennessee Bar Foundation and administered by the Tennessee Justice Center, the project engages public officials, attorneys and citizen volunteers. One goal is to update General Sessions Court forms and processes, some of which date from before the Civil War, to make them more accessible and informative for the general public. The other goal is to provide self-help training materials and volunteer assistance to enable an unrepresented individual to present her case to the court. With such assistance, the courts will be better able to reach fair verdicts, with less burden on the court and all of the parties to the lawsuit. It’s a win-win for justice! Health Equity: TJC’s mission to ensure that our laws, policies and programs reflect and honor the value and potential of every human being, regardless of income, age, ability or race, is rooted in the goals of health equity. For over 24 years, TJC has worked to elevate the needs of marginalized groups – including, low-income families, seniors and people with disabilities – and make Tennessee’s policies more just and compassionate. This work must center health equity as its touchstone and confront racism as a systemic barrier to the equitable allocation of resources among different groups. Health equity is achieved when every person, regardless of race, income, education, gender or other demographics, has access to what they need to be as healthy as possible. If there were equitable access to resources, including health care, housing, transportation and food, then a person’s zip code would not be a predictor of their life expectancy. The goal of health equity is to eliminate health disparities, such as higher rates of infant and maternal mortality, higher rates of chronic conditions and lower life expectancy, that are prevalent for people of color and are not due to genetic predispositions.