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MANHATTAN LEGAL AID FOR SENIORS PROJECT
Low-income Manhattan seniors face daunting challenges in their efforts to live independently in their own homes. With one in five seniors living at or below the federal poverty level and their average income only half of the county median, growing numbers of seniors live one crisis away from homelessness as they try to make their fixed retirement or disability income cover the rising costs of housing, utilities, food, medicine and transportation.
Manhattan Legal Aid for Seniors Project (MLASP) began operations in July 2005 with support from the New York City Department for the Aging. It provides a broadl range of high quality civil legal services to seniors, prioritizing those at risk of losing their housing and independence. MLASP reaches out to vulnerable seniors in need of help on housing, benefits, health care, consumer, and abuse issues.
MLASP help seniors avoid the pitfalls that prevent them from aging in place by providing community legal education at senior and community centers, Naturally Occurring Retirement Communities (NORCs), senior supportive housing facilities, and adult homes. Our Aging in Place: Ask the Attorney workshops will give seniors the chance to raise their concerns with an experienced attorney and find out how to get help. The project also works closely with social service providers throughout Manhattan to enhance the ability of case managers and social workers to provide accurate information to seniors and to make timely and appropriate referrals to legal services.
MLASP is a collaborative project between MFY Legal Services and the Northern Manhattan Improvement Corporation.