Sen. Cindy F. Friedman (D-Arlington) has been named Legislator of the Year by the Massachusetts chapter of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys. At its annual meeting on Dec. 5, the group honored several individuals for their advocacy of elder services and their commitment to raising awareness of legal issues affecting seniors.
Friedman
The award is given to a legislator each year in recognition of his or her efforts in passing legislation that protects seniors, particularly those with special needs and disabilities.
“We must do everything we can to ensure that every individual in need of care – regardless of age or ability – is supported and has access to the appropriate resources,” Friedman, cochair of the Joint Committee on Health Care Financing, said in a Dec. 16 news release. “Thank you to the Mass. Academy of Elder Law Attorneys for recognizing my work and for striving each and every day to better the lives of those most vulnerable in our Commonwealth.”
Clinically complex older adults, who are in the greatest need of support, have a difficult time sustaining the services necessary to allow them to remain safely in their own homes. Friedman’s most recent efforts to combat this issue has culminated in several pieces of legislation she is championing that would expand access to mental health services, lower the costs of prescription drugs, as well as fairly compensate human service workers, many of whom care for the elderly.
The National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, the leading professional organization for elder and special-needs-law attorneys in the country, is dedicated to developing awareness of issues concerning the elderly and those with special needs. More than 450 attorneys are members of the group’s Massachusetts chapter. Members work directly with the elderly and those with special needs in areas as diverse as planning for catastrophic care costs, disability planning, age discrimination in employment and housing, benefits planning, estate planning, veterans’ benefits and more.
Friedman represents the Fourth Middlesex district, which includes Arlington, Billerica, Burlington, Woburn, and precincts 1-2 and 4-7 in Lexington.
This news announcement was published Monday, Dec. 16, 2019.
