SeniorLAW Center

05/29/2026

This Older Americans Month, SeniorLAW Center honors the grandparents and older relatives who are raising grandchildren and keeping families together.

Through our Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Project, we support grandparents and older relatives in Pennsylvania as they navigate the legal and practical challenges of raising children later in life. Whether helping secure custody, access benefits, or address other kinship care issues, our work helps strengthen family stability and supports the well-being of both caregivers and children.

Supporting grandparents and kinship caregivers is deeply connected to healthy aging. When older adults have access to legal advice, information, and referrals, they are better able to both care for themselves and for the children who depend on them.

SeniorLAW Center is proud to stand with grandparents raising grandchildren throughout Pennsylvania and help ensure older adults can age with dignity, security, and well-being.

05/28/2026

Check out this WHYY article linking the need for more staffing at the Fair Housing Commission (FHC) with the passage of the Safe and Healthy Homes bills and the benefits of "good cause" protections for Philadelphia tenants.

Staff Attorney Vincent Montoya-Armanios shared with WHYY that cases have recently taken longer to close due to the lack of a quorum of commissioners to hear cases in real time. “Now that all tenants will have a right to stay in their homes except for good cause, certainly thousands more tenants fall under FHC protection,” he said.

SeniorLAW Center agrees that the FHC needs more resources to ensure that Philadelphia's tenants have protection against unfair rental practices and having to fight an eviction in court. We urge City Council to support increased capacity for the FHC in the next fiscal year's budget.

Read the full article in WHYY at https://whyy.org/articles/fair-housing-commission-philadelphia-budget/.

Advocates say additional staffing would enable employees to prepare more cases for administrative hearings, positioning the agency to make more rulings.

05/27/2026

During Older Americans Month, SeniorLAW Center recognizes the important role that access to legal advice and information plays in supporting older adults’ health, stability, and well-being.

Through the PA SeniorLAW HelpLine (1-877-727-7529), older adults throughout Pennsylvania have access to free legal advice, information and referrals on a wide variety of civil legal issues, including elder abuse, financial exploitation, consumer protection, housing, kinship care, and more.

By helping older Pennsylvanians understand their rights and navigate difficult situations, SeniorLAW Center supports healthy and safe aging in communities across the state.

Everyone deserves the opportunity to age with dignity, security and peace of mind.

05/21/2026

This Older Americans Month, SeniorLAW Center recognizes the vital connection between safe, stable housing and older adults’ health and well-being.

Access to stable housing is essential to healthy aging, impacting everything from physical and mental health to safety, independence, and quality of life. Through our Housing Justice Project, SeniorLAW Center helps prevent homelessness and advances housing stability for low-income older homeowners and tenants in Philadelphia through critically needed legal services, education, and advocacy.

This Older Americans Month, we reaffirm our commitment to ensuring older adults have the legal support they need to age with dignity, stability, and peace of mind.

05/20/2026

During Older Americans Month, we celebrate the strength, resilience, and contributions of older adults in our communities; and reaffirm our commitment to protecting their dignity, safety, and well-being.

At SeniorLAW Center, our Victim Services Project supports older adults who have experienced abuse and exploitation. Access to justice is deeply connected to health and wellness: when older adults are safe in their homes, protected from abuse, and empowered with legal support, they are better able to live with stability, independence, and peace of mind.

In this clip, former Victim Services client Ms. Miles talks about the enormous impact that SeniorLAW Center had in her life, saying, "If it weren't for SeniorLAW Center, I don't think I'd be here." Thank you, Ms. Miles, for sharing your story.

This month and every month, we stand with older adults and work to ensure they can age with dignity and respect.

05/19/2026

Today, May 19, is primary election day. Visit vote.pa.gov for more information on who is on the ballot in your locality and how to cast your vote.

⏰️ Polls are open on election day from 7 A.M. - 8 P.M.
📮 Completed mail-in and civilian absentee ballots must be received TODAY by 8:00 P.M. Check the status of your mail ballot and find return locations ➡️ vote.pa.gov.
🏛️ Find your polling place ➡️ vote.pa.gov.

05/16/2026

This Tuesday, May 19, is an important primary election day. There will be federal and state offices on the ballot across Pennsylvania, as well as 2 ballot questions in Philadelphia.

Make your voice heard!

⏰️ Polls are open on election day from 7 A.M. - 8 P.M.
📮 Completed mail-in and civilian absentee ballots must be received by 8:00 P.M. Check the status of your mail ballot and find return locations ➡️ vote.pa.gov.
🏛️ Find your polling place ➡️ vote.pa.gov.

05/12/2026

This Thursday, May 14th, join Generations United and the William Penn Foundation Grandfamilies and Kinship Care Learning Community to hear directly from caregivers and individuals raised in kinship families.

Across the city, many children are being raised by grandparents, relatives, and close family friends, often without formal systems recognizing or supporting them. You may already be working with kinship families and not even realize it.

Through the Looking Glass: Getting to Know Kinship Families in Philadelphia is designed to bring that experience into focus.

During this interactive session, you will:
• Hear directly from caregivers and individuals raised in kinship families
• Learn the basics of kinship care and the kin first approach
• Gain insight into how systems can better support these families
• Connect with professionals across Philadelphia doing this work (including SeniorLAW Center's Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Staff Attorney Katie Jones)

Registration is still open! Learn more & RSVP: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/guwpfrsvp

05/11/2026

Last week, SeniorLAW Center's Housing Justice Staff Attorney Octavia Williams testified before PHLCouncil in support of Councilmember Rue Landau's resolution to declare May 2026 as Affordable Housing Month in Philadelphia.

Our Housing Justice Team sees firsthand how rising housing costs threaten the stability and wellbeing of older Philadelphians. Safe, stable, and affordable housing is essential for older adults to age with dignity in their homes and in their communities.

"Proclaiming May as Affordable Housing Month would bring ongoing attention to these issues and the vital housing programs that expand access to legal services, provide rental assistance, fund home repairs among others that have shown results," testified Octavia. "It creates an opportunity to highlight the city’s achievements and that housing is the cornerstone for strong neighborhoods, safe streets, and a resilient Philadelphia."

05/04/2026

In honor of Older Americans Month, a time to recognize older Americans' contributions and reaffirm our commitment to serving older adults, we are proud to share our new video introducing SeniorLAW Center and our mission.

Every day, our dedicated team of staff attorneys and advocates works alongside older adults to defend their rights, amplify their voices, and help them regain stability, safety, and hope. This video offers a glimpse into that work.

We hope you'll take a moment to watch our video and share it with your network.

We would like to thank Michael Schweisheimer, Chris Marston and their crew at PWPvideo for their partnership and expertise in helping us tell our story.