Skip to main content

“James”—an elderly client living with HIV/AIDS—had been waiting several years to secure a bed in a long-term care facility. When one finally became available, however, he had to quickly provide various legal documents, including a power of attorney and an advance health care directive, or risk losing his slot.

Unfortunately, James had lost his identification card during his hospitalization, which would prevent him from getting these documents notarized. He reached out to us for urgent help.

Law Clerk Taytem Mathis and Staff Attorney Emily Heinzen acted swiftly, collaborating closely with James and his social worker at the Shanti Project to draft the necessary documents. Together, they came up with a creative solution for James’ lack of identification, working with his social worker to identify several witnesses who could be present when signing the documents. Taytem and Emily were able to promptly conduct a home visit and finalize the documents. As a result, James was able to secure a spot in his new home.

Law Clerk Taytem Mathis (L) and Staff Attorney Emily Heinzen (R)

His Shanti case worker shared:

“I just wanted to thank you again for all your help setting this up. We are deeply grateful … [James’ move to his new home] should be a great quality of life improvement for him. Thanks to ALRP for supporting this senior client, couldn’t have made it happen without you.”