Skillfully serving seniors (The Daily Record)

Wednesday Apr 26th, 2017

I had the pleasure of volunteering Saturday at the 26th annual Law Day for Seniors, organized by Senior Legal Services. The free event was held at a Baltimore City District Court and was attended by more than 300 Baltimore city seniors.

The conference-style programming included seminars on issues such as financial scams targeting seniors, combating nursing home abuse, Baltimore city tax sales and water bill issues and estate administration. Attendees were provided with breakfast and lunch at no charge. 

The courthouse corridors were packed with various vendors and city agencies, like the Department of Public Works, the Health Department’s Division of Aging and the sheriff’s office. Other pro bono groups, such as Maryland Legal Aid and Maryland Volunteer Lawyers Service, also were involved.

 Volunteer attorneys and judges made up the panels in the numerous substantive law sessions. I was amazed at how patiently they discussed current challenges facing the elderly in Baltimore and educated the underserved population at risk of losing very basic resources. I was unaware of some of the issues faced by low-income city residents such as tax sales and inaccurate water bills and the predatory liens that go along with non-payment.

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