Diversity

SAGE Legal Clinic for National Health Care Decision Day

Friday, April 17 04:00 AM BST to 04:00 AM BST

The Paul Hastings New York office and members of the NY LGBTA Network will be working with SAGE on the following pro bono outreach:

Services and Advocacy for GLBT Elders (SAGE) is the nation's largest and oldest organization dedicated to serving and advocating for LGBT older adults. Elder members of the LGBT community not only face the typical challenges of aging, but also confront marginalization and discrimination around their sexual orientation and gender identity.

On April 16, 2009, SAGE will be offering a series of advanced directive legal clinics as part of National Health Care Decisions Day. National Health Care Decision Day is a 50-state annual initiative that aims to provide (free of charge) essential information to older adults regarding the necessity of advanced directives as well as the opportunity for Seniors across the nation to complete and file their own advanced directives.  For LGBT older adults, advanced directives are essential to ensuring that their personal healthcare choices and wishes are respected and carried out.  Unfortunately, in SAGE's experience too many of their constituents do not have these legal protections in place and often do not have the financial means to access legal counsel.

Over the course of the day, SAGE will hold clinics in Greenwich Village, Harlem, Queens, Brooklyn and the Bronx. Each two-hour clinic will consist of two parts: 1) an educational component on the importance and scope of Health Care Proxies, Powers of Attorney, and Living Wills; and 2) individual sessions where SAGE constituents can fill out and file advanced directives. 

SAGE will be holding a training for all interested persons on Monday, April 6th at 6pm at SAGEs offices (305 Seventh Ave., 12th floor) to review the documents to be covered at the workshops on April 16th.  For more information on the training sessions or the clinics, please visit SAGE's website at www.sageusa.org