Who We Are and what we do
We believe that living independently and with dignity is the hallmark of justice.
Did you know that since 2010, the aging population has been on the rise? By 2050, projections indicate the population over 65 will increase by 8% comprise about 21% of the population.[1]
The Center for Elder Law & Justice (CELJ) began its free legal services for the elderly in 1978. Our mission has always been to help the elderly, disabled, and financially eligible live independently and with dignity. We do this by advocating for our clients.
So why Elder Law?
The geriatric population in our community has been on the rise as well as the mistreatment of the elderly. With this growing need, we take pride in knowing that our office is here to advocate for the aging community.
WHAT IS ELDER LAW?
Elder Law means so much more than just wills, trusts, estates, and end of life matters. Elder Law is all about helping our most senior community members live their best life possible, regardless of their income or social status.
At CELJ we provide a wide variety of services for the aging, disabled, and financially eligible which makes our firm unique.
We provide services such as:
- Substituted Decision Making
- Health Care Advocacy
- Elder Abuse Prevention
- Income Maintenance
- Consumer Protection
- Foreclosure Prevention
- Housing
- Assisted Living Evictions
- Pooled Trust Services
Each unit specializes in their fields to ensure justice for our clients and community. Not only does CELJ provide a multitude of services, we interact with the community regularly through outreaches and advocacy on a state and local stage. We believe that living independently and with dignity is the hallmark of justice.
Want to support our work?
Donations to the Center for Elder Law & Justice allow us to serve our community members in need without restriction.
[1] Raphel, Alexandra. "Trends and Statistics Relating to U.S. Seniors, Elderly: Census Bureau 2014 Report." Journalist's Resource. September 30, 2016. Accessed September 13, 2018. https://journalistsresource.org/studies/society/public-health/trends-statistics-relating-us-seniors-elderly-census-bureau-2014-report.
FAQs
As the population ages and the need for our services has grown, it was time for us to have a name that better reflects the work we do and our mission. We are a law office, but we are also much more. We believe that adding “justice” to our name conveys that we go beyond just representing people in a legal capacity- we also offer guardian and trustee services, engage in systems advocacy and have several social workers on staff to help connect people to services, all with the goal to improve our clients’ access to a better quality of life. Additionally, this new name is shorter, easier to say and remember, and better reflects the positivity of the people we serve and the staff.
No. Our mission remains the same- to use the legal system and the provision of free civil legal services to help our clients live independently and with dignity
Yes, we will continue to help people of all ages in the same capacity that we do now. Some of our practice areas, including mortgage foreclosure prevention, kinship care and health care advocacy are open to people of all ages and will remain open to the same populations. However, seniors make up the majority of our client base.
For over a year, we worked with consultants and also surveyed staff, board members, donors and friends to determine how people view the agency and whether there were any misconceptions about the work that we do. We also reviewed client surveys for suggestions on how to improve our services and outreach. Based on the results that we received and on our research, we determined that the name Center for Elder Law & Justice best represented who we are and how we want people to see us.
We help to protect the essentials of life for our clients- access to housing, health care, protection from abuse and many other matters. However, our role goes beyond just solving problems for our clients- we help equip them with the information and services that they can use to maintain a good quality of life. Empowerment is at the core of what we do for our clients, and we truly believe that it has a positive impact on society and our community.
Yes! We are excited to announce the launch of a new website (www.elderjusticeny.org), logo, and updated colors.
For more information about Center for Elder Law & Justice, please visit www.elderjusticeny.org or find us on Facebook!
