A new year brings so much promise. A fresh start. Not just for those many tasks and projects we hope to pursue (this will be the year!), but time for reflection, quiet time, time to think about what is really important in our busy and complicated lives. And for me, it is a time to be grateful for this opportunity to work with a passionate, talented team who could do so many things but instead, devote their lives to the service of others. It’s a time to think about fundamental rights. The right to vote. One of my passions. No matter what party or where on the political spectrum you are, your vote is vital and should count. It's why we worked with our partners at Public Interest Law Center to file a 3rd Circuit amicus brief this month to protect the right to vote.

The right to autonomy and decisionmaking. It is why we serve diverse clients with health care and end-of-life planning services that are traditionally not available to them.

The right to counsel. It’s why we are deeply involved in guardianship reform and promoting a model where you don’t face losing your most fundamental rights about your life without a zealous advocate by your side. It is also why we are promoting a legal aid model free of legal fees, as our colleagues in Nevada have done so well, transforming a system rife with exploitation and replacing it with a system based on due process, transparency, equity and fairness.

Despite all the world’s challenges, despite the poverty, abuse, housing and family crises, and violence so many face, I am hopeful for this new year. Join me. This work, with you, pursuing justice is hopeful, aspirational, full of the promise of tomorrow.  

Happy new year.

Warmest wishes, 

Karen C. Buck, Esq.

Executive Director

P.S: And I am so excited and proud to honor my cherished friend and colleague of over 30 years, Larry Felzer, at our upcoming Gala. See below!

We are proud to celebrate the 20-year tenure and career of our colleague Larry Felzer, Senior Director of Finance and Operations, with a 2024 Champion for Justice Award. Leader in the public interest, legal and LGBTQ+ communities, Larry brings passion and humor to all he does. From chairing the Public Interest Section of the Philadelphia Bar, the Gay and Lesbian Lawyers of Philadelphia, and the Temple Law Alumni Association, to serving as a member of the PA Bar House of Delegates and a committed Gay Bingo and ACLU-PA volunteer, Larry’s leadership and community service is extraordinary and expansive. 

Larry has received the PA Bar Association David M. Rosenblum GLBT Public Policy Award (2018), the ACLU of PA Volunteer Service Award (2014), TLAA’s Diversity Leadership Award (2013), GALLOP’s Michael Greenberg Community Service Award (2012), the TLAA Service Award (2008) and the AIDS Fund Volunteer of the Year (2007).

A huge baseball phan, Larry was also one of the co-organizers of the first Gay Community Night with the Phillies in August 2003, and has had the honor of throwing the first pitch before his beloved Phils not once, but twice. Not to mention, his role as co-Grand Marshal of the PRIDE Parade in 2013.

Please join us to celebrate Larry and to celebrate justice at our April 10, 2024 Gala. We will be announcing all of our inspiring honorees in the weeks to come!

Support, Sponsor and Purchase tickets for our 2024 Gala here.

“THE ARC OF THE MORAL UNIVERSE IS LONG, BUT IT BENDS TOWARD JUSTICE.” 

– Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

On January 11, 2024, in honor of the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. we joined with our enduring pro bono partners Blank Rome and Comcast to provide free legal services to low-income older Philadelphians and hear their life stories. The day started with a collaborative reading of Dr. King's "I Have a Dream" speech, a moving tradition begun years ago to celebrate Dr. King's vision. Attorneys, paralegals, notaries, and witnesses volunteered their time to serve older adults at SeniorLAW Center’s “Life Planning” Clinic. Together, they prepared over 40 essential planning documents for diverse clients aged 66 to 81 years old, enabling them to make health care, financial and end of life decisions through preparation of powers of attorneys, simple wills and living wills. Thank you to all of our volunteers and organizers, including board member Jason Conn and the entire Comcast Pro Bono Committee along with Blank Rome’s pro bono leaders Krystal Kane and Kathy Ochroch, who continue to make a real difference in the lives of older people and their communities.

On January 12, with our partners Public Interest Law Center, we filed an amicus brief in the Third Circuit Court of Appeals in the voting rights case, Pennsylvania State Conference of the NAACP Branches v. Secretary, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. In the 2022 General Election, more than 10,000 voters who timely returned their mail-in ballots were disenfranchised because they had made a harmless clerical mistake: writing an incorrect date, or no date at all, on their ballot envelope. In a victory for voters, the federal District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania, responding to a lawsuit filed by civil rights groups including the Pennsylvania NAACP, found that rejecting these ballots for immaterial clerical errors violates federal law. That decision was appealed to the Third Circuit Court of Appeals.

In Philadelphia, voters over age 50 cast 72% of mail-in ballots in 2022—and 81% of the mail-in ballots that were rejected for clerical errors. The mail-in ballot tool is an important one for all voters, but essential for older and disabled voters, regardless of party or affiliation.

“The older Pennsylvanians we serve face particular challenges when exercising their right to vote, from a lack of transportation to inaccessible polling places. Our commonwealth should not add to these challenges by maintaining needless clerical requirements in the mail-in voting process that so many older voters have come to rely on.” - Karen Buck, Esq., Executive Director at SeniorLAW Center.

“We should not make voting harder with pointless red tape, especially for vulnerable voters like older Pennsylvanians,” said Ben Geffen, senior attorney at the Public Interest Law Center. “The District Court rightly recognized that rejecting thousands of mail-in ballots for a harmless paperwork mistake does not uphold our right to vote, and the court’s decision should stand.”

The federal Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits disenfranchisement based on “immaterial” paperwork mistakes that have no bearing on a voters’ eligibility.

“Affirming the District Court’s decision will protect thousands of Pennsylvania voters, especially older voters, from disenfranchisement on the basis of immaterial paperwork mistakes,” the brief reads. “This is exactly what the Civil Rights Act of 1964 requires, and this Court should affirm."

As long-time voting rights advocates, we are proud to continue our work in this litigation as amicus and to be represented by our valued partner Public Interest Law Center to ensure mail-in ballots are counted and every vote is protected.

Read more and access the brief here.

Aligned with our mission to ensure older tenants and homeowners live in safe and habitable homes, we are committed to sharing resources that can help during these cold winter months.

The Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) is a resource if you or someone you know is struggling to pay your heat bill. LIHEAP helps families and individuals living on low incomes pay their heating bills through cash grants sent directly to the utility company.

Apply for LIHEAP online at: COMPASS HHS Home (state.pa.us) or click HERE to find your local office.

We are hiring for the following positions:

Staff Attorney, Victim Services

(Philadelphia)

Full-time, Available immediately

Staff Attorney, Tenant Rights

(Philadelphia)

Full-time, Available immediately

Legal Advocate, Tenant Rights

(Philadelphia)

Full-time, Available immediately