Senior Adults Legal Assistance - Sala

What is SALA?

Founded in 1973, Senior Adults Legal Assistance (SALA) is a non-profit organization whose mission is to support Santa Clara County seniors in their efforts to live safely, independently, and with dignity and choice. This year SALA will provide free legal services more than 1,000 persons age 60 or older, targeting clients that are very low income or at risk of abuse, isolation, or loss of independence.

 

SALA’s clients are seen primarily by appointment at 22 senior centers or sites throughout Santa Clara County. For a list of locations, visit SALA’s website at www.sala.org. The current demand for SALA’s services is so great that the waiting time for a SALA appointment at many senior center locations is three to four months. Homebound seniors and those with emergencies that cannot wait for a senior center appointment are served by phone intake. SALA also makes home visits throughout Santa Clara County when needed.

 

SALA’s staff of six attorneys specializes in legal matters common to our target population, such as public benefit programs (Social Security, SSI, Medicare, Medi-Cal, In Home Supportive Services), elder abuse (physical and financial), housing, basic planning for incapacity or end stages of life, and long-term care or assisted living. Pro bono estate planning attorneys also provide Simple Wills for clients with modest assets through SALA’s No Fee Wills Panel.

 

What Clients or Their Families Have to Say About SALA

SALA serves as a vital lifeline for many of the clients we serve, but they can best attest to the impact and value of our services. This is what some clients or their families have told us about our services:

 

It is a great blessing to have people like SALA when you get to be 60+, just knowing that there was help for me and the situation I am in.  I no longer feel that horrible fear I had of my abuser and his threats. Thank you for being there.

 

Thank you for helping me with my Social Security problem. I am so grateful that you helped to lift that dark cloud over my head.

 

We are relieved to have finally taken care of our Advance Health Care Directive. We have known for a long time it should be done. Thank you for helping us make this happen.

 

You have been a tremendous help.  Mom worried constantly until she got this done. Now she feels much better. She does not have the financial resources to take care of legal matters, so this aid has given her peace of mind, and may have also saved her family a lot of grief. Thank you so much for being there for us!

 

From my first encounter with SALA I felt comfort. With SALA’s assistance and support I am now recovering from a most difficult and perilous situation in my home surroundings.

 

Because of your efforts we finally have a voice towards justice.

 

 

How You Can Help SALA

As a legal service provider under the Older Americans Act, SALA cannot charge fees for services or accept fee generating cases. The availability of our services is limited by the amount of public funding (primarily government grants) or private support we receive.  Your investment in SALA will help us provide the highest level of service possible. It will also leverage additional grant dollars from the State Bar Legal Services Trust Fund Program, the Silicon Valley Campaign for Legal Services, and other funders where grant amounts are determined by a formula that takes into consideration our total support in prior years.

 

In the box at right are just a few examples of what your investment in SALA will provide, but a donation of any size (even $10.00) will make a difference in the lives of seniors struggling to survive or to live independently in our community.