When the pandemic forced JABA to close its doors, our popular Wills for Seniors program had to be canceled. Eighty-one seniors had signed up for the March event, which provides in-person life planning services with an attorney at no charge, including a simple will, durable power of attorney and an advance medical directive that make their healthcare wishes clear. At a time when these decisions are more important than ever, it was particularly difficult for us to cancel the program.
However, thanks to the newly formed Central Virginia Advance Directives Collaborative, the Legal Aid Justice Center, JABA, and the Charlottesville-Albemarle Bar Association, those 81 seniors will get free life planning services after all.
"I reached out because my family is from Detroit and I was seeing firsthand the need for preparedness in this regard," says attorney Kristin Clarens with the Legal Aid Justice Center, who is also coordinator of the Charlottesville-Albemarle Bar Association’s Volunteer Lawyer Program. "Since we're several weeks behind the coronavirus epicenters in terms of crisis response, I hoped that by connecting CABA lawyers with vulnerable neighbors, we would be able to support and to reduce the stress of our neighbors in need in a really unstable and scary time."
JABA clients will work remotely with an attorney to develop a plan for these important documents.
Indeed, even before the pandemic, JABA recognized that making important decisions about end of life not only impacts families, but also our entire communities, which is why we helped jump-start a community-wide conversation that has become the the Central Virginia Advance Directives Collaborative.
"The goals of the Collaborative is to have the majority of adults in Central Virginia file advance directives with their health care providers," says JABA CEO Marta Keane. "The peace of mind that comes with completing an Advance Directive and knowing that your family/ friend/ designee will be able to know and follow your wishes is huge. And the comfort it gives the family to not make a decision in a vacuum. Everyone deserves to maintain their dignity until the end. The quality of life that we each wants includes the quality of the end of our life."
JABA hopes to continue its in-person Wills for Seniors program this fall. Learn more here: Wills for Seniors Program
JABA Wills for Seniors clients can contact Kristin Clarens at kclarens@justice4all.org, or at 434-249-6125. When you call, be sure to tell her you are a JABA client.
