The Elderly Poor
In the VOLS Elderly Project, pro bono legal services are provided to poor persons living in Manhattan who are over the age of 60. We conduct twelve legal clinics each month at eleven senior centers where seniors can discuss their legal concerns in confidence, receive legal advice and, where appropriate, obtain referral to a volunteer lawyer for representation. We also provide services to clients from an additional 80 community-based agencies serving the elderly poor. Areas of legal assistance include wills, medical directives, powers of attorney, housing, consumer matters and Medicaid. Over 150 lawyers serve on our Elderly Project volunteer attorney roster.
In 2007, the VOLS Elderly Project provided legal services on 1479 cases. About 400 of the seniors served were homebound. Last year, the project also conducted 42 legal information sessions for seniors and senior center staff on life-planning and debt-related issues, reaching 700 seniors and 380 senior center staff members. Our information sessions reach a wide range of seniors. For example, seniors at Tanya Towers on the Lower East Side who are deaf. The legal presentation was signed to the seniors. Some of the seniors are both deaf and blind. For this group, the legal information was conveyed by a social worker fingering words on the palms of residents' hands. At MoriahSeniorCenter, located in WashingtonHeights, many of the seniors are victims of the Holocaust. Here the presentations were in English and Spanish.
362 of the cases were referred to volunteer lawyers.
The VOLS legal clinic sites for the Elderly Project are:
East Side
The Educational Alliance - 197 East Broadway
University Settlement Older Adults Program - 189 Allen Street
Community Lounge for Senior Services - 155 East 22ndStreet
The Burden Center for the Aging - 1484 First Avenue
Stanley M. Isaacs Neighborhood Center - 415 East 93rd Street
West Side
Our Lady of Pompei Church- 25 Carmine Street
Hudson Guild/Fulton Center Senior Services - 119 Ninth Avenue
Encore Community Services Senior Center St. Malacy's Church - 239 West 49th Street
Goddard RiversideSeniorCenter - 593 Columbus Avenue
Abyssinian Development Corporation's Abby Towers Residence - West 131st Street
Central Harlem Senior Center - West 140th Street
Ft. Washington Houses Services for the Elderly - 99 Ft. Washington Avenue
822 of the 1479 cases undertaken in 2007 originated at these clinic sites and 657 cases came from non-clinic sites. The Elderly Project staff reviews cases from non-clinic sites; makes suggestions for immediate action where necessary; refers the client to a VOLS legal clinic, if practicable, and conducts home visits.
The Elderly Project published an updated edition of A Guide to Burial Assistance and Funeral Planning for New Yorkers in Need. The guide contains burial assistance information for social workers who work with elderly poor New Yorkers, and for friends and families of poor persons who have died. In 2007, the guide was downloaded from our website 3500 times. | 
