Elder, 健康和残疾:保护老年人的权利, 保持获得医疗保健和残疾福利的机会
GBLS Prevents Exploited Elder’s Eviction
The Elder, Health and Disability Unit represents elders, 确保残疾人和家庭有收入, 他们在社区中独立生活所需的卫生保健和服务. Our work promotes affordable housing for seniors, access to quality health care, Social Security or SSI income. 测试努力让人们远离机构，并改善那些生活在机构中的人的生活质量. 测试使人们能够对自己的生活做出决定，并支持残疾人争取无障碍的斗争.
Direct Services
Our major priorities include:
- Preservation of Housing for Elders 反对公共住房和补贴住房被驱逐, since it is housing of last resort. Loss of this housing almost always means homelessness, and physical and emotional decline for the elder.
- Economic security for families, adults, and elders 透过提供社会保障/社会保障计划津贴，帮助长者生活, adults and children out of poverty. 测试努力确保这些客户获得正当程序的基本原则, including adequate notices, fair hearings and timely receipt of benefits.
- Strengthening access to health care for families, adults, 为了使老年人获得高质量、负担得起的医疗保健的权利成为现实. We work to ensure that people with disabilities, 儿童和老人可以获得维持健康所需的保险和服务.
- Advancing the rights of people with disabilities 代表精神残疾儿童讨论与他们根据《测试》享有的权利有关的问题 Rosie D. 以及需要国家机构提供心理健康服务的青年和成年人的代表.
- Defending the rights of immigrants 谁经常不知道他们可能有资格参加什么项目, 或曾被错误地拒绝援助，并因语言或误解而被孤立.
- Protecting the rights of the most vulnerable elders 包括在养老院和/或受监护的人，在养老院驱逐案件中代表他们，并确保他们的正当程序权利在监护诉讼中得到保护.
Elder, Health & Disability Community Partnerships
社区伙伴关系是测试老年人、保健和残疾工作的支柱. They enable us to expand our advocacy efforts. 测试目前的合作举措包括确保获得卫生保健, 为长者提供经济保障及提供房屋.
Read more about our community partnerships.
Elder, Health & Disability Impact Advocacy
测试倡导影响的当前优先事项是监护制度改革, 保障隔离敬老院居民权利, 改善残疾人获得医院服务和运输服务的机会，确保残疾人获得医疗保健服务.
Elder Abuse Prevention Project
虐待老人在英联邦是一个普遍且日益严重的问题. Each year millions of older Americans, including thousands in Massachusetts, are abused, neglected, and exploited. However, despite the prevalence of elder abuse, 这是美国最不为人知的问题之一.
大波士顿法律服务中心的防止老年人虐待项目(“EAPP”)致力于确保大波士顿地区的老年人免受虐待, neglect, and exploitation. 利用预防和应对虐待老人行为的社区模式, the EAPP provides trainings to care providers, community members, and seniors to increase public awareness; offers legal advice and representation to abuse victims; advocates for systemic reform; and builds local community networks that prevent and intervene in cases of abuse.
Read more about the Elder Abuse Prevention Project.
Massachusetts Guardianship Policy Institute:
For almost thirty years, 大波士顿法律服务公司和测试的客户集团, 领导了监护改革倡导运动，以保护老年人和残疾人的基本自由和自主，他们因法院命令的监护和/或监护而失去独立决策的权利. 随着老年人口的增长，老年人的寿命越来越长, the population at risk has increased.
测试的核心目标包括加强对风险人群的正当程序保护, including right to counsel, 以及建立一个高质量的公共监护人，以防止虐待和剥削, alleviate poverty and stabilize the unbefriended, who have no family or friends to step up and help.
Following twenty years of advocacy, in 2009, 测试成功通过了全面的监护改革法, 包括严格的正当程序和对受监护者的问责保护.
In 2014, 测试帮助组织了马萨诸塞监护政策研究所, MGPI, collaborating with Northeast Justice Center, and Guardianship Community Trust. Our work includes research, 教育和倡导先进的思想和政策，以改善所有成年人的生活, due to functional impairments, 不能照顾自己或管理自己的财产, without help, 特别是那些缺乏个人和经济资源的人可以私下寻求帮助. The MGPI website is http://guardianship.institute/index.php, and we welcome new subscribers.
MGPI has held a series of four Colloquia, bringing together community leaders, policy makers, 倡导者和学者们在全州范围内为马萨诸塞州未满足的监护需求制定更好的政策. In December 2016, we filed a bill, H 3027, S 1177, 通过公私合作创建急需的《测试》.
研究所还在制定政策，改善对可能想要担任监护人的家庭成员和志愿者的支持和资源. 研究所提倡对监护的限制最少的选择, 包括更广泛地使用卫生保健代理人和委托书，以最大限度地提高个人控制和自决.