WNY Legal Services for the Elderly

- About Us -

The Mission of LSED

It is the mission of Legal Services for the Elderly, Disabled or Disadvantaged of Western New York to improve the quality of life for elderly, disabled and low-income persons in Western New York. We do so through the provision of free civil legal services, primarily to individuals age sixty and over as defined by the federal Older Americans Act, but also to younger disabled and low-income individuals, as funding permits. Our primary goal is to use the legal system to assure that our clients may live independently and with dignity.

Overview of Services

LSED is a not-for-profit human service agency incorporated in 1978 to provide specialized, free civil legal services to elderly people in the community of Western New York. Currently we contract with the Departments of Senior Services in the following counties: Erie, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Allegany, and the Seneca Nation of Indians. In Genesee and Niagara Counties we contract with the Department of Social Services to handle Medicare appeals for disabled Medicaid recipients of any age directly referred through the Departments of Social Services in those counties. In 2007, to respond to the current mortgage foreclosure crisis, we expanded our mortgage foreclosure prevention project which previously had focused on the City of Buffalo and Erie County. In partnership with our colleagues at the Legal Aid Bureau, we now handle referrals from the additional counties of Niagara, Genesee, Chautauqua, Cattaraugus, Orleans, and Wyoming. Finally, in 2004, we formed a pooled supplemental needs trust with People Inc. and Key Bank to provide trustee services to disabled persons receiving public benefits.

Through our health care program, we seek to ensure access to adequate health care by handling appeals and questions regarding Medicaid, Medicare, prescription drug coverage, private health insurance, home health care, long term care insurance and patients' rights. Health care issues continue to be a major area of concern for seniors; over the last few years in particular due to the significant changes to the federal Medicare program.

The goal of our housing program is to help our clients avoid homelessness by defending them in evictions, tax and mortgage foreclosure proceedings and predatory lending schemes. We also represent elderly homeowners in the City of Buffalo faced with housing code violations and assist those clients in obtaining grant money to make the necessary repairs. Many seniors are long-term city residents and, by helping them remain in the community, we also ensure the stability and character of local neighborhoods. Our Mortgage Foreclosure Prevention Project is a joint program with the Legal Aid Bureau of Buffalo, and several HUD-certified counseling agencies.

Pursuant to the Older Americans Act, we can provide defense counsel to individuals who are the subject of proceedings pursuant to Article 81 of the Mental Hygiene Law. We also draft advance directives for our clients, both powers of attorney and health care proxies. It is our hope that by promoting the use of advance directives, we can reduce the burden on our courts and community caused by the commencement of guardianship proceedings. In 2007, through a grant with the US Department of Justice's Office of Violence against Women, we joined forces with the Unified Court System, Crisis Services, County Protective Services, Buffalo City Police and the Erie County Sheriffs to train local law enforcement on elder abuse.

We handle issues of income maintenance and some consumer matters with the goal of increasing the self-sufficiency of our clients. We remove illegal liens on Social Security accounts, handle utility shut-offs and represent clients in appealing adverse decisions in the areas of Social Security retirement, non-disability SSI and Veterans' benefits. We also handle bankruptcy matters for qualified clients who are in danger of losing their homes.

In 2001 we began a Grandparents' Rights Program (renamed the Relative Right's Project) through a partnership with the Erie County Department of Senior Services. The goal of this program is to provide support to seniors caring for minor children. A secondary goal is to preserve intact families and keep children out of the foster care system. The project is funded by Erie County with a federal grant through Title III-E of the Older Americans Act. Older relative caregivers can get assistance with custody and adoption of their minor family members and can also obtain help with issues involving the child's (and their own) public benefits.

Clients Served

Buffalo is the second poorest large city in the country. According to the 2000 census, although Western New York is generally losing population, as the baby boomers age, the percentage of seniors in our area will actually increase. Erie County estimates that by 2015 there will be a 73.8% increase in the number of seniors age 85 and older as compared to 1990 and that almost 1 in 4 residents will be sixty or older. www.erie.gov/dept/seniorservices. As the number and percentage of seniors increase in all counties of Western New York, there will be an increased need for our services to advocate for clients, many of whom will have lost family support as younger people leave the area. The problem was highlighted by a September 5, 2007 article in the Buffalo News:

"As the baby boom turns into the elder boom in the coming years, economically struggling areas like the Buffalo Niagara region are likely to face a squeeze providing needed services for their swelling core of older residents, a new study said Tuesday. The report, from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York's Buffalo branch, said upstate New York's high concentration of older adults will spur increased demand for senior-related services and affordable housing at a time when governments and nonprofit groups are strapped for cash..." "This is going to be an increasingly important issue for us" said Richard Deitz, the Federal Reserve branch's senior economist, who wrote the report with former Fed economist Ramon Garcia. "They are going to be seeking more money in the context of tighter budgets and fiscal distress" Deitz said. "The demand for services and infrastructure tends to be greatest in those parts of upstate New York that are already experiencing fiscal stress because of rising expenditures and eroding tax bases."

This year LSED closed 1,029 cases, providing assistance to 1,304 Western New Yorkers. Based upon the information from our closed cases, it is possible to get a picture of our client population. The typical client in 2008 was more likely to be female (70%) and disabled (59%). Forty-five percent of our clients identified themselves as belonging to a minority group. As our local population ages, our client base does as well: 57% of our clients were age 75 or older in 2008. Although the Older Americans Act prohibits us from having a strict income test for eligibility, we target economically and socially disadvantaged individuals and 82% of our clients identify themselves as low-income.

As required by the Older Americans Act, every client receives a survey at the close of his or her case. An impressive 90% of our clients are either very satisfied or satisfied by our services and staff. The following comments are typical:

"You people are a godsend to sick, elderly, disabled people like me who have neither the strength or knowledge or energy to fight misjustices that go around everyday in America. You are REAL ATTORNEYS not the type on TV who practice law for the money instead of for justice."

"Is almost worth getting old to become eligible to have the opportunity to access this outstanding service. It was top notch."

"This donation is not much but it is given with sincere thanks and heartfelt gratitude. If everyone that you help(ed) would send just a small token of appreciation -- how many more could you help?"