Elderly Unit

Serving people age 60 and older, regardless of income

· housing, including eviction defense
· nursing home issues, including transfer and discharge
· benefits issues - Social Security, SSI, Veterans’ benefits, EAEDC, including benefits issues experienced by immigrants
· access to health care, including MassHealth
· loss of food stamps
· defense against guardianships and conservatorships
· consumer issues

The Elderly Unit works closely with the Medicare Advocacy Project (MAP) of GBLS which is available to assist clients with Medicare problems.  See the MAP section of this website.

Staff of the Elderly Unit are available to do outreach and community education presentations on any of the legal issues we handle.  We can also make home visits and nursing home visits to see clients.

For the last year, the Elderly Unit has been representing clients in a coalition of consumers, nursing home operators and labor unions.  This coalition seeks improvements for nursing home residents and staff by advocating for increased staff-to-patient ratios.  The coalition has been successful in the last two years in obtaining over $80 million in increased funding in the state budget for nursing home improvement.