On May 2, Leslie Sude, MD, assistant professor of Clinical Pediatrics, and volunteers from the StreetCred Income Tax Program attended a Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) volunteer dinner where Dr. Sude was presented with the Shining Star Award for her outstanding work with the StreetCred Program at Yale New Haven Health (YNHH).
The StreetCred Program is a free tax preparation program designed to assist low- to moderate-income families in the Primary Care Center who potentially qualify for the federal and state Earned Income Tax Credits in preparation of filing annual income taxes.
StreetCred, a clinic-based antipoverty intervention, seeks to connect eligible families with the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) — essentially, it’s a VITA site located in a clinic setting. Low-income working parents who file tax returns receive the EITC/child tax credit, which has been shown to bring more children out of poverty than any other entitlement program.
Additionally, the EITC has been associated with physical and health benefits like fewer preterm births, higher birth weights, less abusive head trauma, less maternal depression, and a decrease in suicides. It’s more likely for children of EITC recipients to graduate from high school and earn more as adults.
“As a primary care physician, I feel there is great value in addressing our patients’ financial stress directly in the clinic setting,” said Dr. Sude. “The root cause of all social determinants of health is poverty, and it makes sense to address the upstream cause of social determinants like housing, transportation, food, and mental health by addressing poverty directly.”
Dr. Sude, medical-legal partnership attorney Alice Rosenthal, and a passionate team of residents and medical students launched the StreetCred program, which began at Boston Medical Center, two years ago — and YNHH was one the first sites outside of Boston to do so. StreetCred grew at rate of 95% this past tax season over the first year, for total impact of 160 tax returns filed and $400,000 in total refunds and saved commercial tax prep fees returned.
The Connecticut Association of Human Services (CAHS), which oversees the IRS VITA program in Connecticut, recognized Dr.Sude for her service to the New Haven Tax Coalition and her perseverance in growing StreetCred.
The root cause of all social determinants of health is poverty, and it makes sense to address the upstream cause of social determinants like housing, transportation, food, and mental health by addressing poverty directly.
Leslie Sude, MD
The program is set to return for tax season 2019 and in preparation, the group is welcoming new volunteers to be trained as tax preparers (all training provided on line or via a one-day course) and is working with CAHS to host a financial literacy workshop that will be open to patients and hospital employees.
For more information, visit the StreetCred website, follow them on Facebook (StreetCred New Haven), and reach out to Dr. Sude directly at leslie.sude@yale.edu about volunteer opportunities.