[Legal empowerment and mental health: the legal subject in hospitals].

A social experiment and pilot project funded by the French Directorate General of Social Cohesion aimed at providing legal aid services ("legal empowerment and mental health") has been conducted since 2009 in three healthcare institutions in Paris (France): the Centre Hospitalier Sainte-Anne, the Groupe Public de Santé Perray-Vaucluse, and the Hôpital Tenon (psychotraumatology unit). Lasting until 2012 and piloted by the NGO Droits d'Urgence, the initiative aims to promote the legal empowerment of socially excluded people suffering from psychiatric or mental disorders and to facilitate access to care. The initiative operates on two levels, providing legal support to vulnerable people and offering legal expertise and advice to medical and social staff.