PHILADELPHIA, P.A. (NCC News) — Seniors are the population most vulnerable during the coronavirus pandemic, but one woman is well-suited to help them and advocate for their safety. Dana Goldberg usually advocates for seniors when they face physical and mental abuse from people taking advantage of their vulnerability, such as family members. But now, she has to help them face an invisible foe: the coronavirus pandemic.
Goldberg is the legal director of the SeniorLAW Center: a non-profit organization that protects the rights of older people living in Pennsylvania. Their work has become more important now than ever before as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warns that older people are at a high risk for getting very ill due to the coronavirus. The CDC offers the following advice to older adults during this coronavirus pandemic:
- Have a plan
- Know who will take care of you in the event a caregiver gets sick
- Reach out to your health care provider to get your medication
- Make sure you have a few week supply of food
- Keep aware of what is happening in your community
Seeing as seniors are at an increased risk, Goldberg is doing everything in her power to help them. She has even been able to meet with many clients virtually through video conferencing software, like Zoom. Even though it means working a little bit harder than usual, she said helping people is what she was destined to do.
“I have always felt that doing public interest work was what I was meant to do. That it was a way of merging my skills and doing something where, at the end, you’re trying to make someone’s life a little bit better,” Goldberg said.
Though Goldberg was not always sure she wanted to be a lawyer, she decided to finish law school. Throughout her entire career she has been helping others who need her by advocating for them through law. In her first job, she worked as a staff attorney at the Women Against Abuse Legal Center. Now, she is again helping some people who have been abused and are vulnerable. Goldberg’s husband, Jacob, said his wife has been able to use her legal skills to provide assistance to seniors during the current pandemic.
“She has (through the coronavirus crisis) been able to martial the resources of the SeniorLAW Center to help protect against financial and physical abuse,” Jacob said.
The SeniorLAW Center has been providing lots of resources to seniors during the pandemic, including a wellness check. This wellness check makes sure the seniors have everything they need during the pandemic, including access to food and electricity. The SeniorLAW Center has also set up fund where people can donate to help older people during the coronavirus pandemic.
All of these initiatives have meant more work for employees, like Goldberg. But her son, Gabriel, said that working hard for people who need her is nothing new for his mom.
“My mom is the type of person that never stops working for the things that she cares about. Especially in a time like COVID-19, she has been working endlessly for these seniors. And it’s very inspiring to see,” Gabriel said.
Goldberg has assisted the SeniorLAW Center in shifting their services to be online and accessible for anyone who needs them. Overall, she said she is very happy that she can help these seniors, even in a small way.
“I always want to be the voice for the voiceless. So, our ability to do that, even in the smallest of ways… that’s a tremendous thing to be able to do during the crisis,” Goldberg said.
The CDC has released a statistic that said eight out of ten coronavirus deaths have been in patients ages 65 and older. They have encouraged seniors to stay inside and quarantine from their families.
