Senate News Update
From Senator Jane Earll
January 7, 2008

SeniorLAW Helpline Available Statewide

We face many occasions in which we can make decisions based on our gut instinct, and others in which we need some sound advice.

Picking a color to paint the kitchen or numbers to play in the lottery are decisions we can make based on what "feels right."  But buying health insurance, writing a will, climbing out debt – those are decisions we should make with the help of a professional.

Unfortunately, not everyone can afford such expert advice.  Fortunately, volunteers are just a phone call away.

The Pennsylvania SeniorLAW Helpline is a toll-free, statewide, legal information, advice and referral service for Pennsylvania senior citizens (60 years and older).  It's a free and confidential telephone service, staffed by attorneys.  The number is 1-877-PA SR LAW (1-877-727-7529).

The helpline provides free legal information, advice and referrals on a variety of topics, including:

• Consumer problems (credit, debt, bankruptcy)
• Health care, including Medicare Part D
• Estate planning (wills, powers of attorney)
• Pensions – government and private
• Family law (divorce, custody, domestic violence)
• Housing (landlord-tenant, deeds, utilities)
• Many other areas of the law

The helpline provide interpretation services in 150 languages. 

This wonderful service is offered by the SeniorLAW Center (formerly Senior Citizen Judicare Project), a nonprofit agency founded in 1978 by members of the Philadelphia Bar Association.

The project is made possible with the support of federal funds and the Interest on Lawyers Trust Account (IOLTA), which was established in 1988 as a means to raise money to provide civil legal services to the poor and disadvantaged of Pennsylvania.

The helpline is open Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.  It’s not a 24-hour "hotline."  If you or someone you know are at risk of abuse or neglect, call the Erie Area Agency on Aging at 814-459-4581, extension 400 for the Adult Protective Services unit during working hours (8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Mon-Fri).  At other times, reports for the Adult Protective Services unit are taken by the Hotline at 814-453-5656. 

For more information on the helpline and the SeniorLAW Center, visit www.seniorlawcenter.org.

This is great resource to find answers to legal, insurance and financial questions, or to find referrals to other sources of assistance.  It's run by caring volunteers from the legal profession.  If you're facing one of those issues in which gut instinct just won’t do, give the SeniorLaw Center helpline a call.  And, as always, please pass the information on to a friend.

As always, if you have questions on this or any state government matter, please do not hesitate to call my office at 814-453-2515.