@ConnConnection on Twitter; @reddevilsfan8332 on Instagram
Bio
Kathy Flaherty
ATTORNEY, BIPOLAR, ADULT ADOPTEE, MENTAL HEALTH CONDITION, SOURCE, WRITER, EXPERT SOURCE
Image: A head and shoulders picture of a woman with short brown/gray hair, glasses, and a big smile standing in front of a column in a government building. The picture is off center and there are blurred lights in the background. She is wearing a gray patterned sweater over a gray, blue and black patterned dress.
Contact Kathy: kflaherty at clrp.org
Since 2015, Kathy has served as Executive Director of Connecticut Legal Rights Project, Inc. (CLRP), a statewide non-profit agency which provides legal services to low income individuals with mental health conditions, who reside in hospitals or the community, on matters related to their treatment, recovery, and civil rights.Kathy spent 12 years as a Staff Attorney at Statewide Legal Services of CT, Inc., the centralized intake hotline for all the Connecticut legal services programs. A graduate of Wellesley College (Class of ’88) and Harvard Law School (’94), Kathy has dedicated her professional life to advocating for the rights of the underserved.
In January 2013, Kathy was appointed to Governor Malloy’s Sandy Hook Advisory Commission, a 16-member panel of experts created by the Governor to review current policy and make specific recommendations in the areas of public safety, with particular attention paid to school safety, mental health, and gun violence prevention.
Combining her personal experience as a recipient of mental health services and her legal background, Kathy is able to speak to issues affecting those living with mental illness from a multi-faceted perspective.
Kathy is a member of the Board of Directors of Lawyers Concerned for Lawyers-CT (the state’s lawyer assistance program), and the Connecticut Alliance to Benefit Law Enforcement (CABLE). Kathy is currently the co-chair of the Keep the Promise Coalition, a coalition of advocates (people living with mental health conditions, family members, mental health professionals and interested community members) with a vision of a state in which people with mental health conditions are able to live successfully in the community because they have access to housing and other community-based supports and services that are recovery oriented, person-driven and holistic in their approach to wellness. She is also a member of the steering committee of the Connecticut Cross Disability Lifespan Alliance, an alliance of people of all ages with all disabilities who pursue a unified agenda.
You can find Kathy on Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Twitter @ConnConnection
Clips:
Hartford Courant, September 2018: Connecticut — Newington included — needs more affordable housing
Hartford Courant, May 2018: Hartford's Minor League, Let's Embrace It
Hartford Courant, March 2018: My birth certificate is ‘fake news’
Kathy is available as a source and for personal essays and opinion editorial
Additional communication availability: Phone, text, chat, videoconference
Languages: English (Fluent)
Law, Housing, Employment, Medicaid/SSDI, SNAP, State Benefits, State Budgets, Legal Aid, Disability Rights
Clips
Expertise
Pop Culture, Law, Politics, Sports, Disability Rights, Americans with Disabilities Act, Disability
Availability
Source, Personal Essays, Opinion Editorial, Radio Appearances, Television Appearances, Podcast Appearances
