Advocates for Individual Rights
There are programs and services available to assist people and organizations
with their legal concerns and actions including:
- Civil
- Criminal
- Administrative
Advocacy organizations such as legal aid, the Minnesota Office of the State Attorney
General, the Ombudsman for
Mental Health and Mental Retardation Ombudsman
for Managed Care, and volunteer attorney organizations may be available to
provide pro-bono (free) services to advocate for you in:
- Accessing benefits that were
improperly denied, reduced or eliminated
- Representing you in an
administrative or court hearing
- Documenting a complaint that
you have and send it to the appropriate investigating authorities
- Assisting you in resolving a
dispute through mediation or facilitation
Access to these services may depend on your income, legal or other status.
Self-advocacy is having the opportunity to know your rights and
responsibilities, stand up for them, and make choices about your own
life. Self-Advocacy is people speaking out for themselves.
By doing these things, the quality of life for people is vastly improved.
For further information*:
Contact one of the information lines listed below during normal business hours. Services are free and confidential.
The Senior LinkAge Line® is served by volunteers and staff of the area agencies on aging who are certified by the Minnesota Board on Aging. Staff and volunteers receive extensive training and provide objective, confidential assistance. They are independent and are not connected with any private or non-profit companies that sell products. The Senior LinkAge Line® is the federal government-certified Medicare Counseling phone service for the state of Minnesota.
The Disability Linkage Line® is served by the Metropolitan and the Southeastern Centers for Independent Living. Staff and volunteers receive extensive training, and provide objective, confidential assistance. They are independent and are not connected with any private or non-profit companies that sell products.
The Veterans Linkage Line™ is answered by trained staff at the Minnesota Department of Veterans Affairs and Crisis Connection, a Twin Cities based nonprofit mental health telephone counseling service. MDVA staff, who are veterans themselves manage the lines Monday through Friday from 8am to 4:30pm. Crisis Connection social workers field all crisis call during business hours, and all calls after hours, weekends and on holidays.
Minnesota Teens or Young Adults with questions or comments about this Web site can call (651) 431-4714; Mon- Fri, 8:00 am - 4:30pm or email: youth_corner@state.mn.us.
* Many programs in this Web site require that you have maximum income or asset limits and use the standard of Federal Poverty Guidelines (e.g. 120% of FPG). The Federal Poverty Guidelines are set by US DHHS, and take affect in Minnesota July 1st. Federal Poverty Guidelines are available at the United States Department of Health and Human Services.
Eligibility for many public programs is done by the Minnesota County Social Services System. To find a county eligibility office near you, put your zip code into Minnesotahelp.info and type the name of the program in the keyword search box. For example, "Medical Assistance".
NOTE: There are many other factors - besides a person's income - that go into determining whether a person is eligible for a program. It's important to talk to the provider of the program to see if you can qualify.