The Florida Department of Elder Affairs has awarded a $1,000 mini-grant to Legal Services of Greater Miami, Inc. to host a community event designed to educate seniors about the legal rights and protections available to them.

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Elder Affairs Mini-Grant to Fund Community Education Event for Seniors

The Florida Department of Elder Affairs has awarded a $1,000 mini-grant to Legal Services of Greater Miami, Inc. (LSGMI) to host a community event designed to educate seniors about the legal rights and protections available to them. One of 12 awarded around the state during May’s recognition of Elder Law Month and Older Americans Month, the mini-grant, is part of the
Department’s recognition that legal needs are increasingly entwined with other issues facing elders today.

While the mini-grant will pay for only a single community event, the Department’s intent is that the collaboration will be part of ongoing efforts between LSGMI and the local aging services
network to identify and address the needs and vulnerabilities of seniors in the area.

“More and more often we are seeing that challenges faced by elders have their roots in more complicated issues that can only be resolved by the legal system” said LSGMI Executive Director Marcia K. Cypen. “This community event is an important step to teach seniors about the resources available to them to help resolve those legal issues.”

Legal issues and the need for an attorney’s help can be involved when questions arise over a senior’s shelter, adequate food, public assistance benefits and independence. For example, a legal services provider may be able to determine that an elder’s inability to pay the utility bill is actually the result of losing money in a home repair scam, or that the need for housing assistance stems from a landlord-tenant dispute that led to eviction.

“Elders are helped by understanding that sometimes their problems have legal causes, and can potentially have legal solutions,” said Elder Affairs Secretary E. Douglas Beach. “These community education events will help spread the word to seniors who can most benefit from legal intervention."

The mini-grants were awarded to legal aid agencies that provide civil legal services to low income Floridians and to vulnerable and poor older Floridians. The mini-grant recipients will collaborate with their local Area Agency on Aging or other aging network provider. The community education events will focus on consumer law topics such as consequences to signing a contract, debt collection, scam and fraud awareness, or identity theft.

For more information on the community education event happening near you, contact Vivian Z. Chavez, LSGMI Director of Client Services, at (305) 232-9680.