NIU College of Law Health Advocacy Blog

One day Kelli, Jason, Colleen, and I volunteered to help serve lunch at Hesed House after our class period. We went into the PADS dining room around 11 a.m. Walking in, there were a bunch of guests sitting at the tables. They were watching T.V., reading, doing crossword puzzles or word searches, and talking to each other. As lunch did not start until noon, we were each given a task to complete before we started to serve. I was put in charge of making sure that Hesed House guests checked in when they came in. I would let people through the door when they knocked, ask them if they had checked in already, and if not, confirm their ID. After that Colleen and I went to hand out mail. People would show us their identification card, and we would look to see if they received any mail. Before it was time for lunch, we introduced ourselves and told everyone about the Health Advocacy Clinic and the types of cases we handle. Some people came up to us to ask us specific questions about the types of...

The Northern Illinois University Health Advocacy Clinic is beyond excited to announce we officially opened our doors on August 18, 2014 and have begun accepting clients. I will never forget how I felt when I saw the first client referral form in our mailbox at Aunt Martha’s. It was the most nerve-wracking but thrilling anticipation I had ever felt – Who is the client? What is his or her case about? When do I get to make my earth-shattering closing argument and win the case? As soon as Professor Boraca handed the referral form to my fellow student-attorney and me, I wanted to jump in my car, drive to the courthouse, and begin making arguments for our new client. However, before I could make it to the door, Professor Boraca asked, “What should your first step be?” My fellow student-attorney answered, “We should set up an interview with our client. That way we can meet him and get a better understanding of the facts of his case.” Of course we should meet our client. Why didn’t I think of ...