Announcing the first NH-focused consumer guide to assisted living facilities
The Justice in Aging Project at New Hampshire Legal Assistance has written a new guide to help consumers learn about assisted living facilities in New Hampshire, published today, World Elder Abuse Awareness Day 2021.
Highlights include a checklist for evaluating and comparing facilities and an overview of residents’ rights and responsibilities, as well as frequently asked questions about assisted living facilities and a list of helpful resources.
With over more than 15 years providing civil legal aid focused on senior issues, Project Director Cheryl Steinberg observed a void of information about assisted living facilities.
“It’s an industry governed by a convoluted system of laws and regulations, and that can be confusing and complicated for individuals and families to absorb,” she said. “We hope that this guide will be user friendly resource to help people make more informed decisions when seeking an assisted living facility.”
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE GUIDE
The Consumer Guide is the first product of the NHLA Justice in Aging Project, formerly the Senior Law Project.
The project changed its name to reframe conversations about aging and discourage ageist thinking.
“Talking about aging as an issue that only affects older people promotes an us-versus-them mentality. We are all aging, and injustice in issues of aging affects all of us,” said Steinberg.
The Justice in Aging Project provides direct civil legal aid to people aged 60 and over on matters related to housing, benefits, long-term care resident rights, consumer problems and financial exploitation.
The project, serving as lead agency for the NH Alliance for Healthy Aging’s advocacy efforts, helped spearhead the formation of the State Commission on Aging and secure wage increases for home and community-based care providers.
And thanks to a grant from the Tufts Health Plan Foundation, the project is partnering with New Futures to embark on a multi-year initiative to rebalance the long-term care system so that more people with disabilities, at all ages, can live in community-based settings, as independently as possible.
In addition to the Tufts Health Plan Foundation, the project is supported with funds from the Endowment for Health, NH Bureau of Elderly and Adult Services, Mary Gale Foundation and IOLTA (Interest on Lawyer Trust Accounts) program of the NH Bar Association.
About New Hampshire Legal Assistance (NHLA): New Hampshire Legal Assistance is a state-wide non-profit law firm that provides civil legal services to people in New Hampshire who are low-income, older, or have disabilities and cannot afford a lawyer. Its clients include domestic violence survivors; people wrongly denied federal, state, or local benefits; individuals and families facing eviction; students denied educational rights; and victims of housing discrimination.
NHLA maintains offices in Berlin, Claremont, Concord, Manchester, and Portsmouth.