House of Justice, cont'd

Interviewer: Ben, what are some of the legal issues in question that involve around care giving?

Ben Diehl

Ben: Well, again, that takes you to the broad sense of what we're looking at. There's the caregiving in the sense of managing nursing homes and other residence facilities for seniors. Recent studies have just come out showing increasing abuse at nursing homes which takes multiple forms. Forcing seniors to stay in their beds, not providing adequate sustenance, financial abuse of residence of the facility by employees of that facility.

In the home care situation, in terms of caregiving, caregiving law, you could have a situation where a senior has been what we call, "befriended." Has been talked into trusting someone who has entered their life through church, through going door to door, and simply wormed themselves into a position of trust and used that to take advantage of the senior. Whether it be through a power of attorney, just getting that senior to sign documents, looting their bank accounts and leaving them poor. So it's the combination of making sure that the tools that are out there, that can be used to help the seniors, are adequately used. And also acting to fight against those who are taking advantage of those tools.

Debra Bierman

Debra: I was thinking about a client that I have, a man who is about 74 and deaf and not entirely mentally competent and he had a caregiver because it was the only way the hospital would release him after he had a stroke. And she became a very trusted person in his life, took about $50,000 debt, $80,000 out of his bank account and another $60,000 in home loans, and also got title to his house. And then when the police were called and adult protective services were called she took off and went into hiding and the police referred the case to us.

We were able to get his home back for him and get a judgment against her for the money she had taken. So his family was able to sell his house to pay for him to live in a skilled nursing facility which is what he needed to do, and they couldn't afford it 'cause she had taken everything. So he was speaking to something that we deal with on a regular basis.

Interviewer: Is the work you do gratifying?

Ben: Beyond words. There's no way to quantify. I mean, you're our there and you shake your hands with your client and you see what's been done, and the impact that you have had in their lives, and it's a very touching and rewarding thing.

Janet Morris

Janet: Every day I get calls from people about how to fill out a power of attorney for healthcare, or how can I decide who's going to make decisions for me after I can't make decisions anymore, all kinds of things that I have the answers to, and they need the answers. They have been looking all over town for the answers and can't find them. So in that respect it's a real service to the community to be able to answer people's questions and put them at ease. Let them know where they stand, what their choices are, what they can do. And the thanks that we get are just unbelievable. I've been working here for 17 years and I've loved every minute of it. So I really love coming to work every day and helping seniors.

Debra: For me it's all about making a difference, and it's just a profound experience to be able to make a difference in people's lives. You know, what Ben and I do, because of what we do, people aren't homeless, 80-year-old women aren't homeless. And words, like Ben said, words can't express what that means for a lawyer to have an opportunity to do that in someone's life. You know, it's justice one house at a time. You know, make a difference one house at a time. And I don't know how many lawyers have that opportunity.

In so many of our cases, our clients tell us that they love us. To have a client say, "I love you" is not something that happens to all lawyers. It's a tremendous opportunity and, again, and I know Ben feels, we love working for seniors, it makes a difference.

Next: What happens when we have twice as many elderly?