Your guide to NYC's public proceedings.
PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Peter Kempner, Legal Director of Volunteers of Legal Service (VOLS)
3:25:01
ยท
173 sec
Peter Kempner, Legal Director of Volunteers of Legal Service (VOLS), testified about the organization's Senior Law Project, which provides free legal services to low-income New Yorkers aged 60 and above. He emphasized the importance of life planning documents and legal counsel for older adults, particularly for vulnerable subsets of the population.
- VOLS offers free services including wills, powers of attorney, and healthcare proxies to help older adults prepare for incapacity and death.
- The organization has initiatives focused on serving veterans, immigrants, and LGBTQIA+ older adults.
- Kempner highlighted the role of legal services organizations in representing clients in eviction proceedings, fighting benefit denials, and helping obtain necessary documents for aging in place.
Peter Kempner
3:25:01
Good afternoon Chair Hudson Council staff.
3:25:03
My name is Peter Kepner.
3:25:04
I'm the legal director at Volunteers of Legal Service, also known as VALS.
3:25:09
VALS was established back in 1984 and our purpose is to leverage the private of private attorneys to provide free legal services to low income New Yorkers to help fill the justice gap.
3:25:22
Our senior law project serves low income, New Yorkers aged 60 plus primarily by providing last wills and testaments, powers of attorney, healthcare proxies, and other essential advanced directives free of charge.
3:25:37
These life planning documents enable our clients to properly prepare for possible incapacity and death.
3:25:44
They allow our clients to maintain income, avoid homelessness, ensure that their dying wishes are fulfilled, and empower our clients' caregivers to obtain services necessary for our clients to access, including healthcare and other services, so they could age in place in the community.
3:26:06
While we strongly believe that all older adults should have the right documents in place as they plan for the future, We also have several initiatives and partnerships that focus on vulnerable subsets of the older adult population.
3:26:20
These include veterans, immigrants, and LGBTQIA plus older adults.
3:26:25
We have created these initiatives and partnerships because we know that it is important to deliver culturally competent services that are tailored to the most vulnerable communities that we seek to serve.
3:26:37
The Senior Law Project also provides legal counsel to older adults on a range of other civil legal issues, including landlord tenant matters, access to benefits, consumer matters, and other civil legal needs.
3:26:50
We provide training and ongoing support to social service workers, older adult center staff, and pro bono attorneys address our clients' issues.
3:27:03
I'm here to talk about legal services organizations and their role in the ecosphere of services provided to older adult New Yorkers.
3:27:19
Legal services organizations are there to represent clients in eviction proceedings, fight unlawful denial of benefits, and like our organization, help obtain the documents older adults need to live in the community securely as they age.
3:27:34
We want thank the council for the funding that we've received in the past, to help us ensure that our clients and their caregivers have all the tools they need in their toolbox to be able to allow our clients to age with dignity and respect in the community.
3:27:53
So thank you for your support.
Crystal Hudson
3:27:54
Thank you so much.