Mobilization for Justice helps hundreds of seniors to age in place with dignity each year by preventing evictions and resolving ancillary legal needs.
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.
With support from the New York City Department for the Aging (DFTA), we prioritize services to Manhattan seniors at risk of losing their housing and independence. In addition to resolving housing problems, Mobilization for Justice provides legal assistance in the areas of public benefits, health care, consumer, and nursing home issues. We participate in an assigned counsel program in partnership with DFTA social workers to defend seniors who are facing imminent eviction and who need both legal and social work help to resolve their housing problem.
Mobilization for Justice provides community-based legal education at senior and community centers, Naturally Occurring Retirement Communities (NORCs), and senior supportive housing facilities. We work 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.