Area Funders Step up to Help Legal Aid Reach Frail and Vulnerable Older Adults

Harvey Strauss, Esq., Legal Aid of Southeastern Pennsylvania Co-Executive Director announced today that the organization recently funding from a number of new funding sources to support its work helping frail and vulnerable older adults in the four-county suburban region with a range of legal issues including consumer law and predatory lending, landlord-tenant problems and mortgage foreclosure, obtaining public benefits and income supports, and a range of end of life legal issues.

"We are enormously grateful to these funders, which have experienced the same adverse economic conditions as the rest of us, for seeing the importance of preserving and expanding basic legal help for some of the most needy individuals in the region," said Strauss. "Because of this funding, for the first time we will be able to reach a significant group of underserved older adults in Chester County, expand our Senior Advocate program in Delaware County and improve coordination of elder law services across the four counties."

The new funding sources include:

  1. A 3-year grant from The Pew Fund for Health and Human Services to support Legal Aid's four-county Elder Law program;
  2. A grant from the Coming of Age program sponsored by WHYY, United Way and the Temple Center for Intergenerational Living to support the expansion of Legal Aid's Senior Advocate program in the City of Chester;
  3. A grant from the Taylor Community Foundation to support Senior Advocate volunteer legal assistance in the senior centers in Folsom and Sharon Hill;
  4. First-time funding from the Chester County Department of Aging Services for general elder law services in that county.

In 2007-2008, Legal Aid opened 1318 new legal cases for adults aged 60 and over. 457 of these cases were for adults 75 years and older. The number of new older adult cases has increased by more than 20% each year over the past two years (from 866 in FY 05-06).

Examples of meaningful legal outcomes that Legal Aid has helped its clients to achieve:

  • In 2007-2008, as the result of Legal Aid's representation, 40 clients aged 60 and older received federal bankruptcy protection allowing them to discharge $927,579 in debt;
  • 30 older adults were helped to obtain Protection from Abuse orders; 10 of these clients were aged 75 or older;
  • 11 older clients avoided foreclosure or other loss of their homes; 8 were helped to avoid eviction;
  • 39 older clients obtained, preserved or increased income maintenance benefits through TANF, Social Security, and Unemployment Compensation systems.

Other area funders of Legal Aid's Elder Law Services include: Green Tree Community Health Foundation, 1675 Foundation, Delaware County office of Services for the Aged, Bucks County Area Agency on Aging, and Montgomery County Aging and Adult Services.