Legal Aid
Lake Area United Way fights for the education, health, and financial stability of everyone in our community. LAUW fights for seniors who have housing issues. We all win when Legal Aid helps to correct situations so seniors can continue to live happy lives.
It was through tears that a Legal Aid Services of Oklahoma (LASO) first tried to understand the broken English of an 82 year old woman who came to this country from Germany many years ago. When she came to LASO, she was receiving state assistance and living in a senior subsidized housing complex in Muskogee. The only family she had left was her German Shepherd that assisted her daily by helping her balance if she became unsteady and broke her fall if necessary. After living in a senior housing complex for over a month, the housing manager told her she must get rid of her best friend, the German Shepherd, because he did not meet the qualification of being under 20 lbs. The client was devastated and frustrated. When she moved in, she was told that her dog would be alright if she had a note from her doctor saying she needed the dog to benefit her health. Without hesitation, her doctor wrote the necessary note informing the housing complex that her dog helped her and prevented injury on a daily basis. However, the housing complex said that this note was not good enough and she needed something from a veterinarian. With a few calls, and the assistance of the client’s old neighbor and friend, LASO was able to get the client in contact with a veterinarian that supplied her with the note the housing complex was demanding. To this client, her dog was not just a dog, it was her only family and her care taker. Without help from LASO, she would have been homeless or worse… lost her best friend.
Legal Aid of Oklahoma has offices in Muskogee and Cherokee Counties. For more information www.lakeareaunitedway.org/funded-partners-income