PBLO at SickKids (The Family Legal Health Program)

The Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto has added a "triage lawyer" to its team to offer legal assistance to patients and families in need of free legal help. The Family Legal Health program — a first of its kind in Canada — aims to address non-medical issues that impact a child's health or a family's capacity to care for their sick child, said Dr. Ted McNeill, director of social work and child life at Sick Kids.

On a recent walk to pick up her eldest daughter from kindergarten, Cindy Desbiens heard the words she’d been dreaming about for years. “Mom, keep up!” The tiny voice from far ahead was that of Desbiens’ three-year-old daughter Charolette. An outspoken preschooler with boundless energy, the youngest in the family wasn’t always the one doing the yelling or the running...