By Khesia Taylor
When older DC residents with low income face housing, public benefits, or nursing home care challenges, Legal Counsel for the Elderly (LCE) has been there for the last 49 years to offer legal and social services support. LCE’s portfolio includes managing the Tenant Advocacy and Support Practice in partnership with social workers to help prevent the eviction of DC senior residents, litigating predatory lending and real property fraud cases, managing a Self-Help Office to help seniors obtain public benefits and prepare complaint forms, and much more.
LCE is a DC Bar Foundation grantee partner and one of the seven organizations that comprise the Civil Legal Counsel Projects Program. Through CLCPP, they receive a grant to provide legal assistance to DC residents with low incomes who are facing or at risk of facing eviction proceedings or the loss of a housing subsidy. Billy Fettweis, director of development and communications at Legal Counsel for the Elderly, says, “The DC Bar Foundation has been a critical partner in growing our practice of serving people facing eviction. No person with a low income wants to face the prospect of homelessness or an apartment search in an expensive city. Those factors become all the more complicated for a person who is older or perhaps on a fixed income, surviving on Social Security and little additional income, or may also have physical or cognitive disabilities. Support for renters facing eviction is critical for stabilizing their lives.”
In 2023, LCE served more than 550 people facing eviction—an approximately 75% increase from the previous year.
Another issue that LCE helps older adults navigate is when they are living in a home a parent or grandparent previously owned. “They don’t have legal ownership of that home, and it creates a number of subsequent challenges, such as lack of access to property tax credits, forbearance, and other things that contribute to people not being able to stay in their homes,” said Fettweis. Funding allows LCE to continue this work that keeps seniors from becoming displaced.
Since 1975, LCE has been an innovator. Their Legal Hotline, which provides free legal advice for DC residents 60 years of age or older – was one of the first of its kind in the nation. They also serve as a dedicated partner for seniors experiencing an immediate need. In 2018, when the Arthur Capper Senior Apartments caught on fire, and residents lost their homes and personal possessions, LCE immediately collaborated with local agencies, legal aid organizations, and the law firm Arnold & Porter LLP to ensure residents’ needs were met and that they received the emergency assistance needed. Six years later, LCE continues to stand in the gap to advocate and support the residents who still deal with the trauma caused by the fire.
Legal Counsel for the Elderly will celebrate its 50th anniversary next year. Every year since its founding, LCE has fought to empower, defend, and protect seniors living in Washington, DC. Reflecting on the last 50 years, Fettweis said, “We can all be proud of our enduring support and determination to get the best possible outcome for our older neighbors.” Looking toward the future, he shares that “Legal Counsel for the Elderly is excited about the opportunities to engage the community in new ways to deepen our impact and ensure the critical services LCE provides will be available to the community for the next 50 years.”
Please visit the DCBF website to learn more about how the DC Bar Foundation supports grantee partners like Legal Counsel for the Elderly.
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