►
From YouTube: Committee on Aging 4-8-2019
Description
The Committee on Aging of the Council of the City of Philadelphia held a Public Hearing on Monday, April 8, 2019, at 1:00 PM, in Room 400, City Hall, to hear testimony on the following items:
180847 Resolution authorizing the Committee on Aging to hold public hearings to examine emergency protocols that ensure the safety of senior citizens residing in traditional community high rises.
190089 Resolution authorizing City Council’s Committee on Aging to hold hearings on the potential for abuse in the guardianship appointment process and the financial burdens that such abuse could have on individuals being placed into guardianships.
Committee on Aging
Chair: Councilman Al Taubenberger (At Large)
Vice Chair: Councilman Derek Green (At Large)
A
And
the
chair
to
my
left
is
councilman
Jones,
who
is
also
one
of
the
sponsors
of
the
resolution
and
to
my
far
left
is
Councilwoman.
Reynolds
Brown
is
also
the
sponsor
of
one
of
the
resolutions
were
hearing
and
to
my
right
is
Councilwoman
Ginn
and
Councilman
Alan
DOM,
and
so
we
will
be
hearing
today
public
hearing
on
testimony
and
resolutions,
one
eight
zero,
eight,
four,
seven
and
resolution:
one:
nine,
zero,
zero,
eight
nine
I
recognize
presence
of
a
quorum,
and
at
this
point,
mr.
clerk,
would
you
please
read
the
title
of
resolution.
B
A
C
Thank
you
very,
very
much
mr.
chairman,
good
afternoon
to
all
of
those
who
are
in
attendance
around
this
issues,
which
impacts
seniors.
Thank
you
for
allowing
me
to
provide
brief
opening
remarks
on
resolution.
One
eight
zero,
eight
four
seven
which
authorized
this
committee
to
hold
hearings
on
emergency
protocols
for
senior
citizens
residing
at
traditional
community
high
rises.
C
The
resolution
was
introduced
after
council
members,
including
councilman
Jones,
and
myself,
where
this
particular
building
resides,
were
alerted
to
an
emergency
situation
at
the
pavillion
residences,
located
at
3900,
one
Conshohocken
Avenue
these
residences
advertise
themselves
as
I
quote
a
pet-friendly
Section,
eight
tax
credit
community
for
seniors,
in
quote
most
other
residents,
are
senior
citizens
according
to
the
seniors
based
on
a
number.
But
several
dozen
calls
to
my
office
pavilion.
The
pavilion
operated
without
power
for
at
least
two
days
in
September
2018
due
to
an
owner
related
issues.
C
Residents
indicated
that
they
were
not
informed
of
the
severity
of
the
problem,
nor
were
they
kept
up
to
date
about
the
progress
of
repairs.
They
were,
quite
frankly,
left
in
the
dark
residents,
told
us
that
they
were
unable
to
quickly
leave
the
building
due
to
the
outage
impact
on
the
elevator
residents
also
told
us
that
no
comprehensive
wellness
checks
were
undertaken
to
assess
the
health
of
residents
most
concerning
and
most
alarming.
It
appears
as
if
the
residents
operated
without
power
for
several
days
before
anyone
and
the
city
was
notified
of
this
issue.
C
That's
based
on
our
preliminary
homework,
thanks
to
the
quick
intervention
of
a
number
of
city
agencies
and
officers,
power
was
restored
and
the
seniors
were
supported
during
this
very
challenging
period.
On
behalf
of
the
seniors
in
those
offices
I
want
in
our
offices,
we
want
to
take
the
opportunity
to
thank
the
Office
of
Emergency
Management,
the
department
of
license
and
inspection
and
the
fire
department
for
your
extraordinary
public
service
efforts
during
this
emergency
situation,
impacting
one
of
the
two
most
vulnerable
among
us
seniors.
C
B
D
I
just
want
to
thank
the
author
of
the
bill,
miss
Councilwoman,
Blondell
Reynolds
Brown,
for
raising
this
issue
to
the
point
where
we're
having
hearings
in
the
fourth
District,
where
this
occurred,
we
have
the
distinction
of
having
some
of
the
highest
numbers
of
assisted
living
facilities,
senior
facilities
in
the
city,
and
this
is
not
an
isolated
instance.
It
is
a
recurring
instance
where,
for
one
reason
or
another
owners
of
buildings
who
may
have
financed
these
buildings
decades
ago,
have
not
kept
up
with
their
ability
to
take
care
of
maintenance,
and
so
one
occasion
they
kicked.
D
The
Councilwoman
does
not
like
to
point
out
individuals
and
not
made
it
very
clear
about
that.
But
but
Kathy
Richardson
was
one
of
the
individuals
who
was
on
site
in
my
staff.
I
had
miss
crystal
tan,
who
is
the
senior
citizen
whisperer
in
our
office,
and
if
you
want
to
get
under
her
but
her
bad
side,
you
want
to
get
her
angry
abusive
senior
and
see
how
she
takes
it
very
personally
and
I'm
glad
she
does
so
I
want
to
thank
them
for
being
on
the
spot.
D
I'm
Anne
brown
I
was
a
volunteer
who
took
generators
over
to
the
facility,
ran
extension
cords
so
that
people
on
oxygen
people
were
it
makes
me
mad
people
that
want
warm
Walker's.
Mr.
chairman,
we're
on
twelve
flights
up
and
couldn't
operate,
flashlights
trying
to
make
their
way
down,
and
this
is
risking
a
catastrophe.
A
Evans,
thank
you
very
much
and
I
I
would
have
to
say
just
in
passing.
We
can't
check
on
our
seniors
enough.
That's
a
very
good
point
you
made,
because
there's
always
somehow
think
that
they
may
need,
whether
it's
an
emergency
or
it's
bad
weather
or
whatever,
if,
if
you're
a
friend
or
a
relative
of
a
senior
citizen
check
in
on
them,
because
it
would
mean
a
lot
and
you
know
what
it
might
just
brighten
their
day.
Some
senior
recently
told
me
my
day
starts.
A
A
E
B
E
D
D
E
D
E
D
A
failure
to
go
around
because
the
owner,
who
should
have
invested,
there's
a
department
that
probably
should
have
caught
this
before
it
happened.
There
is
the
fact
that
when
we
pay
these
rents
or
let
the
seniors
babies
rents,
there
should
be
a
higher,
or
at
least
as
high
standard
of
an
inspection,
particularly
because
they're
elderly.
This.
E
Building
falls
under
or
getting
federal
monies
yes
and
then
the
other
question
I
have
is
most
properties
like
this.
The
building
managers
have
a
list
of
who
has
a
dog
who
was
a
cat
who's
over
the
age
of
60,
who
needs
assistance,
who's
on
oxygen
and
every
building
I'm
familiar
with
there's
a
list
in
the
manager's
office.
So
when
emergency
occurs,
those
are
the
people
who
get
the
immediate
attention.
The.
D
Problem
councilmen:
there
were
no
managers
on-site
to
find
where
that
this
way
so
safety
checks
were
done
by
volunteers,
they
went
door-to-door.
Not
only
did
they
check
one
people
and
the
staff
has
to
be
commended
for
that,
because
it
was
absolutely
dark,
but
not
only
that
we
wound
up
having
to
feed
them
lunches
and
because
some
people
just
could
not
come
down
the
steps.
An
emergency
management
is
to
be
applauded
for
being
right
on
that
to
make
sure
that
the
essentials
were
covered,
that
all
of
these
things
fall
under
management.
A
D
G
Afternoon
my
name
is
Kataria
McCabe
I'm,
the
director
of
veterans,
kinship
care
and
tenant
rights
at
Senior,
Law,
Center,
councilman,
Todd,
Barger
and
members
of
the
committee
on
Aging.
Thank
you
for
this
opportunity
to
allow
senior
law
centers
perspective
on
the
improvement
of
emergency
protocols
for
units
renting,
primarily
or
wholly
to
seniors
or
this
estate.
G
The
disabled,
Senior
Law
Center
is
an
independent
nonprofit
organization
that
protects
the
rights
of
older
Pennsylvanians,
we're
the
only
nonprofit
organization
dedicated
to
providing
legal
protection
to
Pennsylvania,
seniors
citizens
and
we're
the
primary
provider
of
legal
services
for
older
tenants
in
Philadelphia.
We
provide
free
legal
assistance
to
thousands
of
seniors
each
year,
including
elders
facing
housing
crisis.
We
also
run
the
only
legal
helpline
geared
toward
Pennsylvania's
seniors,
reaching
over
all
Pennsylvania
in
67
counties
when
civil
areas
infected
their
lives,
including
landlord
tenant
issues.
G
I
would
just
like
to
first
briefly
discuss
a
few
statistics
regarding
the
senior
population
in
Philadelphia
to
just
give
a
sense
of
the
community
that
could
benefit
from
the
food
emergency
protocols.
Among
the
ten
largest
cities
in
the
United,
States
Philadelphia
has
one
of
the
highest
percentage
of
seniors
and
the
second
highest
percentage
of
seniors
in
poverty.
G
31%
of
non
institutionalized,
seniors
in
Philadelphia,
live
in
rental,
housing
units
and
42
percent
are
disabled.
An
estimated
28,000,
259
rental
housing
units
in
Philadelphia
are
occupied
by
seniors
who
are
living
alone,
which
amounts
to
10%
of
all
rental
housing
units.
In
this
city.
We
encourage
and
fully
support
the
establishment
of
improved
emergency
protocol
that
more
adequately
ensure
the
safety
of
seniors
and
traditional
community
high
rises.
The
unique
challenges
presented
in
emergency
situations
do
not
require
us
to
accept
the
increased
suffering
of
groups
for
which
we
can
anticipate
that
our
current
protocols
are
not
sufficient.
G
An
electricity
outage,
for
instance,
should
not
prevent
seniors
from
being
able
to
quickly
leave
a
high-rise
building
to
reach
safety
in
an
emergency
when
such
a
building
caters
wholly
or
predominantly
to
senior
tenants,
almost
half
of
whom
may
be
disabled.
The
inability
of
at
least
the
majority
of
tenants
to
use,
stairwells
or
similar
ambulatory
means
to
quickly
and
safely
exit.
The
building
is
undoubtedly
foreseeable.
The
higher
number
of
rental
housing
units
in
Philadelphia,
in
which
seniors
live
alone,
further
demonstrates
that
many
seniors
do
not
live
with
someone
who
can
assist
them
during
an
emergency.
G
G
However,
improved
emergency
protocols
must
go
beyond
merely
the
number
of
individuals
unable
to
use
stairs.
People
with
disabilities,
such
as
those
who
may
be
blind
or
deaf
may
find
it
difficult
to
assess
information
necessary
for
a
quick
and
safe
exit,
additional
signage
or
maps
that
point
specifically
to
the
evacuation
routes
for
seniors
or
people
with
disabilities
represents
one
potential
way
to
address
this
concern.
G
G
Protocols
should
explicitly
anticipate
the
needs
of
seniors
and
people
with
disabilities
and
communication
with
these
groups
should
occur
before
during
and
after
emergency
situations
outside
experts
may
also
be
helpful
in
identifying
deficiencies
and
even
improved
protocols
along
these
lines.
The
participation
of
seniors
and
people
with
disabilities
in
the
development
process
may
help
to
adapt
future
protocols
and
bolster
their
effectiveness.
I
think
we
can
all
agree.
The
seniors
and
people
with
disabilities
represent
a
huge
section
of
our
city's
population
and
that
only
need,
but
deserve
significantly
improved
emergency
protocols.
I.
H
Afternoon,
chairman
taubenberger
and
members
of
the
committee
on
aging,
my
name
is
Sara
Kaiser
and
I'm.
The
legislative
affairs
manager
for
the
department
of
licenses
and
inspections
today,
I'm
here
to
provide
testimony
I'm
resolution
number
one,
eight
zero,
eight
four,
seven
regarding
emergency
protocols
that
ensure
the
safety
of
senior
citizens
residing
in
high
rises,
I'd
like
to
thank
the
committee
for
their
interest
in
this
important
issue
and
for
inviting
lni
to
be
part
of
the
discussion
in
September
of
2018.
The
department
was
made
aware
of
a
power
outage
at
a
high-rise
structure.
H
Housing
seniors
located
at
39
and
1.
Con
Chakan,
Avenue,
Ella
and
I,
along
with
other
departments,
responded
to
the
outage,
and
ultimately,
power
was
restored
shortly
thereafter,
as
the
city's
enforcement
agency,
the
department
of
licenses
and
inspections
is
dedicated
to
improving
the
safety
of
its
citizens
through
the
implementation
and
enforcement
of
the
city's
building
maintenance
and
safety
codes.
Adopting
modern
codes
is
critical
to
ensure
that
structures
within
the
city
are
constructed
and
maintained
to
the
highest
standards.
These
codes
have
been
written
to
provide
redundant
safety
factors
within
structures,
especially
within
high-rises.
H
Within
the
last
year,
legislation
has
been
enacted
which
allows
the
department
to
adopt
the
2018
edition
of
the
International
codes
as
published
by
the
International
Code
Council,
along
with
previously
adopted
local
amendments.
Prior
to
this
legislation,
the
department
was
enforcing
the
2009
edition
of
the
International
codes.
The
adoption
of
these
updated
codes
is
essential
in
providing
necessary
safety
safety
measures
in
both
new
and
existing
structures.
H
Furthermore,
the
Philadelphia
Fire
Code
requires
that
all
high-rise
structures
obtain
a
license.
This
license
is
required
to
ensure
appropriate
levels
of
safety
are
maintained
in
existing
residential
and
non-residential
high-rise
structures.
All
licensed
high-rises
are
subject
to
an
annual
inspection
to
ensure
all
required
safety
measures
are
in
place
and
are
functional.
Lastly,
it
is
of
an
that,
in
the
event
of
a
serious
incident
like
the
one
we
sold
in
September,
a
multi-departmental
response
is
crucial.
H
The
department
of
licenses
and
inspections,
along
with
the
Office
of
Emergency
Management
and
the
Philadelphia
Fire
Department,
worked
together
to
ensure
that
power
was
restored
to
the
building,
and
until
that
was
done,
wellness
checks
were
performed,
food
and
water
was
distributed
and
a
fire
watch
was
established
and
monitored.
The
department
realizes
that
incidents
like
this
are
rare,
but
they
create
a
high
risk,
especially
when
the
population
that
is
affected
include
seniors.
H
A
D
H
Believe
it
would
have
caught
what
happened
was
the
annual
inspection
that
the
building
is
required
to
have
secondary
power,
and
the
annual
inspection
should
catch
that
in
this
case
the
building
had
not
obtained
a
license
and
we
issued
a
violation
for
that
and
they're
currently
in
court.
For
that
reason,
so
the
license
that
they're
required
to
obtain
would
trigger
a
annual
inspection
which
would
have
caught
that.
Hence.
H
D
You
provide
that
to
the
chair
members
of
the
committee
and
what
is
it
numb
up?
Pastor
Mike,
but
what
is
the
threshold
so
so
that
we
walk
in
tight
when
we
send
you
out,
our
intentions
aren't
to
make
people
homeless,
because
that
is
an
unintended
consequence
when
you
see
egregious
violations
that
have
cause
for
concern
to
the
degree
that
you
want
to
vacate
the
property.
However,
it
is
important
for
us
not
to
miss
backup
generators
that
weren't
backing
up,
and
so
we
need
to
get
a
list
of
what
those
thresholds
are
like
at.
D
What
point
you
said
enough
is
enough:
we're
gonna
close
it
down,
and
that
would
be
important
for
us
to
have
that
kind
of
understanding,
because
I
don't
mind
slaps
on
the
wrist.
I,
don't
mind
us
working
with
buildings
in
order
to
get
up
to
code
councilman
down.
But
there
is
a
point
at
which
we
have
to
say
enough
is
enough.
If
we've
given
you
enough
time
to
correct
these,
and
you
have
not
been
responsive.
Where
do
I
need
to
know
where
those
lines
are.
A
A
Nobody
wants
to
make
anybody
homeless,
but
on
the
other
hand
you
don't
want
to
have
someone
residing
in
an
area
that
is,
it
is
totally
unsafe
and
I
do
have
also
one
other
question,
as
as
it
indicates
the
the
generator
was
tested
and
how
was
that
tested
I
mean
they
actually
start
it
up,
or
did
they
just
look
at
it
and
say?
Well,
it
looks
pretty
good,
it
should
snort,
or
did
they
sort
it
up
as
part
of
the
test
procedure.
I
Afternoon
my
name
is
Ralph
DiPietro
Deputy,
Commissioner
of
the
Department
of
license
and
inspection.
A
couple
things
I
thought
if
I
can
explain
a
little
bit,
the
building
in
question
actually
was
wanting
on
emergency
power
when
we
got
there
so
basically
high-rise
buildings
are
required
to
have
a
standby
or
an
emergency
power
source
to
power,
necessary
life
and
fire
safety
systems
in
the
event
of
a
power
outage
now
those
are
really
intended
for
short
term.
I
A
couple
hours
works,
they're,
typically
done
by
generators,
on-site
most
normally
diesel-powered
generators
and
in
when,
in
fact,
in
this
particular
incident,
I
believe
we
became
notified
of
it
around
2:30
in
the
afternoon.
Inspectors
were
dispatched
immediately.
In
fact,
inspector
Marc
Crawford
is
with
me
here
today.
He
was
the
inspector
that
responded
on
behalf
of
the
department
inspector
Crawford
upon
arrived
and
did
find
the
building
running
on
emergency
power,
but,
as
I
said,
that
generators
really
only
intended
for
a
short
period
of
time.
Well,.
A
I
Reports,
it
was
running
about
here
and
again
it's
it's.
These
are
typically
equipped
with
what
we
call
a
de
tank
which
may
carry
several
hundred
gallons
of
diesel
fuel.
Sure
you're
only
going
to
get
a
short
period
of
time,
and
these
are
again.
How
long
was
it
running
price?
Don't
know,
because
we
didn't
find
out
how
we
found
out
about
it
on
the
fourteenth
around
2:30.
Our
original
report
was
this
was
going
on
for
some
time,
maybe
up
upwards
of
two
days,
so
I
don't
really
know
how
long
the
generator
itself
was
running.
I
A
No,
of
course,
but
if
provided
with
enough
fuel,
they
can
run
for
hours
that
was
necessary
and
I.
Think
in
this
case,
because
that's
I
think
one
of
the
big
failures
was
the
fact
that
the
diesel
that
can
stop
running
or
door
never
ran
to
begin
with
and
well
you
said
it
did
run.
So
the
question
is
that
how
long
it'll
run
right.
I
From
what
I,
what
in
fact,
we
have
a
very
similar
incident
currently
going
on
right
now
at
at
Jefferson
Hospital?
If
you
look,
if
you've
driven
down
around
that
area,
you'll
see
some
very
large
tanks,
some
large
generators
there
was
an
accident
that
caused
a
temporary
power
outage,
but
in
those
cases
because
they're
hospitals,
the
generators
are
designed
above
far
above
that
well.
A
I
So,
with
respect
to
both
3901
Conshohocken
and
actually
any
high-rise,
building
they're
required
to
have
an
on-site
emergency
power
source
correct
most
buildings
will
do
this
through
a
generator,
typically
a
roof-mounted.
Sometimes
it's
mounted
in
the
basement,
but
it's
an
on-site
generator
now.
You
can
certainly
supplement
that
and
it's
smart
to
do
so,
especially
if
there's
going
to
be
a
long
range
outage,
because
no
generators
really
intended
to
run
that
long.
You
have
to
refill
it.
I
It's
not
safe
to
do
that,
while
it's
running
or
hot,
so
they'll
bring
in
temporary
generators
and
that's
sort
of
what
we're
faced
with
now
work.
Let
me
just
if
I
may
say
between
the
time
the
department
was
notified
and
we
arrived
on
site
with
our
partners
from
OEM
and
fire.
There
were
about
several
hours
before
temporary
power
was
restored,
the
building
had
emergency
surgeon,
C
power
and
primary
power
to
some
extent
from
the
temporary
source.
So
normally
folks
will
do
this.
Buildings
will
do
this
with
an
on-site
generator.
I
B
I
E
I
Recollection
was
that,
at
the
time
and
still
to
this
day,
I
don't
know
what
the
actual
cause
of
the
incident
was.
Simply
that
building
power
went
down
and
there
was
a
fear
that
the
life
safety
systems
were
impacted
fire
alarms
up
now,
these
things
to
be
fair.
The
idea
is
that
councilman
Jones's
question.
There
really
is
no
reporting
time
when
something
like
this
happens.
The
code
doesn't
specify
that
necessarily
if
a
building
loses
primary
power,
meaning
no
power,
then
of
course
the
building
is
unfit.
I
But
there's
no
time
that
says
hey,
you
have
to
notify
the
Department
of
license
and
inspection
with
the
next
amount
of
hours.
Now
for
fire
safety
systems
down,
you
don't
notify
the
fire
department
right
away.
So
if
a
sprinkler
system
goes
down,
a
fire
alarm
system
goes
down
in
this
particular
incident
again
as
well
as
I
said.
When
we
arrived
there,
the
building
was
on
an
emergency
power
and
the
generator
was
powering
those
loads.
So.
E
I
I
E
I
It's
it's
funny,
I
wouldn't
go
so
far
to
say
it's
an
isolated
situation
seem
to
be
a
bit
of
a
perfect
storm
of
things
going
on,
but
then
again
the
incident
recently
at
the
hospital
couldn't
could
have
accounted
for
that
a
steam
line
thing
here.
There's
electrical
power
going
down,
so
these
things
do
happen
is
miss
Keizer
mentioned.
We
consider
these
these
sorts
of
buildings,
low
incident,
but
high
impact
we
inspect
them
every
year.
E
E
Wouldn't
make
sense
for
us
to
get
our
legislators,
if
possible,
in
federal
government,
to
look
at
this
as
a
requirement
when
you
do
senior
housing
that
you
have
backup
generators
for
senior
housing.
That
would
accommodate
all
aspects
that
seniors
need
not
just
elevators
but
emergency
electric,
and
you
know
power
for
oxygen
and
so
forth,
and
it
might
require
them
to
increase
the
amount
in
order
to
make
sure
those
requirements
are
met.
Yeah.
I
I
think
one
of
the
things
you
might
want
to
look
at
like
we
could
consider
looking
at
is
the
way
hospitals
are
handled.
They
have
a
much
higher.
You
could
imagine
in
a
hospital.
Folks
are
impaired
for
not
lots
of
reasons
their
unconscious,
though
under
sedation
they're
being
operated
one
so
there's
a
whole
different
reporting
mechanism
and
inspection
mechanism
for
those
now.
I
The
interesting
thing
is
a
bunch
of
seniors
can
move
into
a
residential
high-rise
and
it's
an
art
to
a
residential
right
from
the
building
code
perspective,
the
same
as
any
condo,
Rittenhouse,
Square
or
anywhere
else.
We
ain't
seen
the
difference
is
those
folks
can
very
much
be
much
more
impaired
by
health
issues
by
mobility
issues,
so
the
net
effect
is
even
though
it's
residential
and
we
look
at
it
like
residential.
These
folks
are
in
a
little
bit
of
a
different
position
because
they
can't
self
evacuate.
I
You
know
hospitals
are
constructed
with
the
idea
that
you
can
never
possibly
evacuate
them,
they're
made
with
what
we
call
fire
areas,
so
you
can
move
residents,
patients
from
one
location
to
another
and
they
could
still
be
safe
in
place.
The
idea
of
moving
folks
that
are
under
sedation
under
some
kind
of
you
know,
hospital
care
is
very
it's
unlikely
so
that
hospitals
build
that
in.
We
don't
do
that
with
resident
with
residences
and
I.
I
I
D
Point
of
information,
if
I
may
sure
there
was
an
underground
cable
that
was
in
disrepair,
they
used
a
apartment
across
the
street
to
help
establish
a
temporary
connection.
Greenbrier
I
think
it
is
temporary
patches
become
permanent
Lucian's.
If
you
don't
make
people
do
a
real
fix,
it's
like
riding
a
donut
tire
intended
to
get
to
it
to
a
gas
station
who's.
D
So
so
they
patched
it,
they
responded.
But
then
oh,
this
Capital
Improvement
took
too
long
and
the
other
system
failed.
So
what's
also
important
is
they
stayed
in
the
dark
from
a
Lev,
proximately,
11:00
a.m.
to
8:00
p.m.
that
is,
you
know,
that's
a
monthly
point
of
time
and
and
and
to
today
I
would
suspect
that
that
underground,
cable
is
still
only
badge.
So
that's
not
if
it's
gonna
fail
again
it's
a
question
of.
A
I
Yeah
the
the
idea
about
it's
much,
the
same
with
sort
of
construction
accidents,
we're
really
looking
to
see
is
the
building
safe.
Is
there
further
risk?
We
don't
necessarily
get
into
the
the
cause
of
the
accident
and
this
sort
of
thing,
our
our
involvement.
That
document
the
condition
that's
deficient
and
then
have
them,
bring
it
actually.
A
The
season
in
many
incidences,
but
I
cannot
see
it
it
when
it's
power
power
is
very,
very
important
for
a
whole
host
of
things.
You
know
your
each
system
doesn't
work,
there's
a
lot
of
things
that
can
go
wrong
and
in
a
hospital
of
course,
that's
a
different
situation
entirely,
but
people's
lives
are
literally
at
stake
within
moments,
so
I
mean
having
the
understanding
and
having
a
document
of
why
the
power
went
down.
A
C
First
I
want
to
acknowledge
and
underscore
a
councilman
Jones
observation.
The
fact
that
you
three
departments
worked
like
an
orchestra
is
commendable.
Too
often
we
hear
complaints
about
government.
This
is
an
instance
where
my
office,
who
was
heavy
on
the
scene,
councilman
Jones
office,
who
made
their
presence
known
reached
out
and
you
all
came
together
like
a
song
and
that
needs
to
be
really
really
really
acknowledged
and
not
under
played.
Yes,
please
thank
you,
and
so
our
our
goal
is
not
to
point
fingers,
but
to
figure
out
where
the
gap
is
so
that
never
does.
C
Another
incident
and
I
would
respectfully
disagree
with
my
colleague.
This
is
a
this
was
a
crisis
okay,
because
normal
people
who
have
mobility
would
be
freaked
out
of
their
minds
to
go
two
hours
without
dark,
let
alone
eight
with
seniors
is
some
both
of
those
disability.
So
our
goal
is
to
is
to
not
point
fingers
around
this
incident,
but
but
to
fill
the
gaps,
identify
the
gaps
so
that
we
don't
have
a
DejaVu
of
this
particular
type
of
instance
going
forward,
and
so
my
question
is
our
building
owner
is
required
to
show
their
licenses.
C
I
I
There's
no
place
to
display
that
and
and
what
we
do
is
as
an
alternative
is
we
make
sure
we
put
that
information
on
our
website,
so
okay
and
actually
see
because
more
often
than
not,
when
those
kinds
of
as
I
said,
I'm
sort
of
low
incident
but
high-risk
buildings.
The
reason
we
require
license
the
reason
this
legislative
body
have
required.
The
license
initially
was
because
we
wanted
to
do
regular
programmatic
inspections.
I
If
I
made
to
answer
the
question
at
the
original
response
on
the
14th
its
breath
inspector
Crawford
issue,
14
violations
is
that
right?
Yes,
what
goes
include
providing
certifications
and
certifications
to
the
to
the
point
is
once
a
system
is
has
been
doc
has
been
inoperable
or
down
for
a
period
of
time
will
very
often
require
a
licensed
professional
to
come
in
and
evaluate
to
make
sure
it's
working.
I
C
Then
I
also
want
to
underscore
that
never
do
we
want
to
put
a
rope
around
landlord's
neck
when
it
comes
to
violations,
and
now
they
have
to
close
down
the
building
and
therefore
put
out
seniors,
providing
technical
assistance,
sometimes
to
help
them
get
to
code,
so
that
we
can
keep
those
seniors
in
the
homes.
I
believe
would
be
a
more
favorable,
attractive
remedy,
just
helping
them,
get
it
right
and
get
in
order
with
regards
to
compliance
with
rules
and
regulations.
So
I
want
that
to
be
on
the
record
as
well.
But
thank
you.
A
Member,
thank
you
very
much.
I
do
don't
disappear
yet.
One
quick
question
I
know
well
know
every
day,
but
the
gentleman
was
about
the
chair
and
just
a
real
real,
quick
question.
Could
this
committee
be
apprised
of
the
outcome
in
court?
How
this
finally
resolves
itself
absolutely
I
think
it
could
be
helpful
for
other
things
and
potential
legislation
down
the
down
the
lane.
I
I
think
it's
very
important.
Yes,.
A
E
E
I
can
only
tell
you
that,
because
I've
had
several
situations
where
I've
had
to
wait
and
people's
good
I
had
to
wait
for
weeks
it
whatever
for
them
to
take
care
of
the
electric
in
the
ground
and
I
had
a
power
failure
by
the
way
in
one
of
our
properties
and
I
was
on
the
phone
every
half-hour,
even
in
midnight,
till
6
a.m.
to
get
him
out
there
and
they
did
a
good
job.
But
look
it's
technical
and
it's
hard,
but
took
him
about
eight
hours
and
they
resolved
it.
But
it's
it's
it's
most
owners.
E
K
Good
afternoon,
chair
top
table
and
burger
and
all
members
of
the
Committee
on
Aging
I'm
Noelle
foison
deputy
director
of
the
philadelphia
office
of
emergency
management,
Oh
II,
am
I,
am
before
you
today
to
provide
testimony
for
resolution
number
one:
eight
zero,
eight
four
seven.
This
resolution
authorizes
the
Committee
on
Aging
to
hold
public
hearings
to
look
at
emergency
protocols
that
ensure
the
safety
of
vulnerable
populations.
K
In
this
case,
senior
citizens
residing
and
traditional
community
high-rise
complexes,
I
want
to
start
by
thanking
you
for
your
time
and
recognition
of
looking
towards
ways
of
improving
the
safety
of
our
residents.
This
is
a
principle
of
OAM
which
constantly
and
consistently
seeks
ways
to
improve
public
safety,
coordination
among
city
departments
and
external
partners,
along
with
building
resilience
and
increasing
the
welfare
of
our
neighbors.
The
response
that
prompted
this
resolution
is
an
example
of
striving
towards
improvement.
Our
office
is
tasked
by
the
city
in
part
to
safeguard
citizens
when
emergencies
occur.
K
On
September
14th
2018
OAM
was
notified
of
a
12
story:
apartment
building,
housing,
several
hundred
people,
who
were
a
vulnerable
population,
senior
citizens
electrical
power
serving
the
complex
had
been
out
for
two
days.
We
reacted
responding
to
the
3900
block
of
Conshohocken
Avenue
and
contacted
our
partners
from
the
Red
Cross
Salvation,
Army
and
septa
to
help
aid
and
assist
with
such
things
as
food
comfort
and
tending
to
any
medical
concerns
of
residents.
K
When
the
council
resolution
for
this
hearing
States
the
high-rise
advertises
itself
as
a
pet-friendly,
Section,
eight
Tax
Credit
community
for
adults,
62
and
the
disabled
not
having
power
to
a
complex
that
serves
a
large
population
of
seniors
pets
and
the
disabled
is
a
cause
for
concern
alone.
When
an
outage
affects
people's
refrigerators,
medical
equipment
and
elevators.
If
an
emergency
should
cause
the
structure
to
be
evacuated,
the
chance
for
a
negative
outcome
increases
an
example
relating
to
this
response.
K
Is
there
was
no
red
flag
raised
by
the
property
management
over
the
potential
issues
relating
to
the
outage,
which
would
have
prompted
earlier
attention
on
safety
concerns.
If
there
I
need
om,
open
shelters
for
displaced
residents
until
they
can
find
shelter
a
whether
that
be
through
their
own
resources,
like
renters
insurance
or
with
assistance
from
property
management,
a
temporary
shelter
is
less
than
ideal
for
this
type
of
senior
population,
where
there
are
cots
on
floors
of
Philadelphia,
public
schools
and
access
to
food,
medicine,
power
to
medical
devices
and
travel.
K
A
A
K
A
L
You,
sir
good
afternoon,
chairman
taubenberger
members
of
council
members
of
the
Committee
on
Aging
deputy
chief
Charles
W
Johnson
within
the
fire
prevention
division
of
the
Philadelphia
Fire
Department
I'm,
here
to
testify.
With
regards
to
resolution,
one
eight
zero,
eight
four,
seven
sponsor
bar
councilmembers
rental,
Reynolds,
Brown
and
Jones,
with
which
authorizes
the
Committee
on
Aging
to
hold
public
hearings
to
examine
emergency
protocols
that
ensure
the
safety
of
senior
citizens
residing
and
traditional
community
high-rises
I
want
to
highlight
the
incident
which
brought
us
to
this
point
now
on
Friday
September,
14
2018
at
3:13
p.m.
L
a
dispatch
for
a
single
engine
and
Ladder
Company
to
respond
to
3901
Conshohocken
Avenue
pavilion
apartments
for
inside
wires
had
occurred
inside
wires.
Response
criteria
includes
sparking
outlets,
flickering
lights,
the
smell
of
wires,
burning
or
power
outage.
Within
a
residential
dwelling
upon
arrive
and
enduring
the
investigation,
the
companies
were
informed
that
the
pavilion
apartments
a
senior
living
center
had
been
without
power
for
over
48
hours.
Due
to
the
highly
populated
nature
of
the
building
296
units
of
which
292
were
occupied.
L
The
initial
companies
began
requesting
additional
resources
to
assist
with
the
mitigation
process
and
to
tend
to
the
needs
of
the
occupants.
The
requested
resources
included
and
added
an
additional
internet
ladder
company
a
battalion
chief,
a
deputy
chief
to
Community
Action,
Teams
cat
1
and
cat
to
the
Office
of
Emergency
Management
Department
of
license
and
inspections.
Two
members
of
the
fire
marshal's
office
to
emergency
medical
services,
officers,
6
medic
units
to
second
alarm
response
vehicles,
the
Red
Cross,
the
Salvation,
Army
rare
Paul's,
and
to
septa
buses.
L
Three
wellness
teams,
consistent
of
an
officer
firefighter
and
paramedic,
were
placed
in
service
to
check
every
elevator
floor
and
apartment
for
occupants.
The
septa
buses
were
used
as
temporary
shelters
for
occupants
to
rest
and
rehabilitate,
as
well
as
to
be
evaluated
and
monitored
by
EMS
personnel.
Within
the
on-scene
electrical
contractor
reported
as
636
p.m.
that
complete
power,
restoration
should
be
accomplished
by
9
p.m.
and
at
7:51
p.m.
full
power
had
been
restored
to
the
apartment.
Complex.
L
The
Philip,
the
Philadelphia
Fire
Department's
protocols
for
an
incident
of
this
magnitude
ensures
that
a
complete
assessment
of
the
nature
and
scope
is
evaluated
and
address.
There
was
a
need
to
account
for
all
occupants
address.
The
EMS
needs
evaluate
the
displacement
issues,
both
short
and
long-term,
evaluate
the
resources
needed
to
mitigate
the
incident
and
reassess
until
the
mitigation
process
was
completed
due
to
the
large
quantity
of
resources
that
were
needed.
Appropriate
measures
were
implemented
to
interagency
coordination.
I.
Thank
you
for
inviting
me
to
provide
information
for
this
resolution
and
I'm
happy
to
answer
any
questions.
D
D
So
again,
big
structure,
aging
structure,
I,
don't
know
the
investigation
posts
fire,
but
if
we
can
prevent
these
things
by
proper
inspections
and
holding
people
to
reasonable
accommodations
and
I
use
those
terms
specifically,
you
mentioned
you
mentioned
that
there
should
be
a
list
of
individuals
who
are
confirmed,
work
ambulatory
work
so
that
everybody
knows
what
apartment
and
is
that
the
standard
for
our
multi-unit
structures?
Today,
like
we,
you
come
on
a
scene.
Is
there
a
list
of
apartments
that
says,
or
these
people
are
able
body
they
can
get
down
those
steps?
D
K
Speak
to
if
it's
a
it
fits
in
the
code
or
not,
but
I
will
say
that
as
soon
as
we
respond
to
a
scene,
that's
the
first
thing
that
we're
looking
for
from
the
property
management
is
a
full
listing
of
everyone
that
lives
in
that
building.
If
there
is
any
access
and
functional
needs,
any
certain
medical
concerns
that
we
need
to
be
aware
of
councilman.
D
So
we
need
to
do.
We
need
to
make
it
mandatory,
because
you,
you
have
a
responsibility
that
I
couldn't
bear,
which
is
to
make
decisions
for
the
spot
about
where
you're
going.
What
you
in
to
contain,
but
also
to
rescue
and
if
somebody's
on
oxygen
and
can't
get
down
a
flight
of
steps
were
blind
and
one
case
a
person
was
blind
and
couldn't
navigate
everything.
It's
a
lot
easier.
L
So
all
high-rise
buildings
have
to
have
an
approved
evacuation
plan
and
one
of
the
things
that
we
suggest
I'm
not
sure,
if
there's
a
code
violation
not
to
have
it
but
a
list
of
those
occupants
that
are
disabled
and
what
is
the
plan
for
them.
So
it
has
to
be
approved
through
our
fire
code
unit
within
the
Philadelphia
Fire.
Yes,
sir,
within
our
Philadelphia
Fire
Department,
okay,.
D
L
That
approval
process
is
good
for
ten
years.
One
of
the
things
that
was
mentioned
is
the
use
group.
This
particular
building
is
an
r2,
so
it
doesn't
have
all
those
additional
mandatory
things
at
college
or
University
or
a
hospital.
We
had
pretty
much.
What
we're
looking
at
is
an
apartment
building
that
just
so
happen
to
have
seniors
in
it.
L
D
A
L
A
That's
under
that's
understandable,
but
the
actual
drill
itself
is
only
then
for
employees
and
never
for
the
actual
residents.
Because
of
the
use
group,
that's
a
permit.
Are
there
any?
Is
there
anywhere
in
the
code
where
it
demands
at
least
one
fire?
Evacuation
drill
be
done
a
year.
If
I
got
thinking
this
building,
we
do
at
least
two
we
here
it
is.
L
D
A
Probably
wouldn't
be
a
bad
idea
from
time
to
time.
I
actually
have
a
plan
and
implement
it
because
he
could
find
out
things
for
the
residents
themselves.
I
mean
how
difficult
can
that
be
to
do
it
once
a
year
just
to
see
if
the
thing
works,
if
the
plan
actually
works
or
where's
the
difficulty
or
mrs.
Jones,
you
know
one
on
four
or
five
who
needs
a
walker
and
someone
actually
help
her
out.
A
C
Yes,
yes,
as
we
go
down
this
road,
I
am
going
to
lean
on
councilmen
table,
as
councilman
Jones
has
already
done
done,
so
to
figure
out
how
we
can
reasonably
fill
in
what
looked
like
gaps
and
do
it
in
a
way
that's
responsible
and
not
onerous,
two
landlords
to
the
Office
of
Emergency
Management.
Can
you
share
some
of
the
emergency
protocols
that
are
required
for
nursing
homes,
but
not
traditional
high-rises
and
our
apartment
building
is
required
to
keep
a
list
of
persons
with
disabilities.
A
K
C
K
C
C
B
C
L
That's
fair
to
say:
okay,
and
you
know
you
have
a
variety
of
incidents
that
can
occur,
so
you
may
have
a
fire
scenario
versus
one
like
we
experienced
on
Friday
September
14.
Where
was
a
power
outage,
where
we
can
take
our
time
and
assess
each
individual,
get
them
to
the
exterior
and
get
them
the
EMS
care
that
they
need?
When
there's
a
fire
scenario,
we
have
a
process
where
we
may
have
to
shelter
in
place
where
we
can
protect.
Individuals
on
the
floor
have
full
communication.
L
C
E
You
mr.
chairman
I
want
to
echo
my
colleagues
support
of
the
great
work
you
all
did
in
this
situation.
Have
a
question
it
sounds
to
me
like
the
issue
here.
Is
that
the
emergency
generator
for
this
application
didn't
have
enough
power
to
do
what
the
normal
power
would
do,
which
is
the
case
in
many
regular
buildings.
The
emergency
generators
are
put
in
there
just
for
hallway
lights
and
maybe
the
elevators
okay,
and
not
for
the
interior
apartments.
E
So
the
question
I
have
is:
do
we
have
any
information
on
buildings
that
have
full-blown
emergency
generators
right
and
there
are
many
buildings
to
do
this?
Let
me
do
an
example.
If
comcast
goes
down,
don't
tell
me,
they
don't
have
a
generator
to
marry
that
building.
Okay,
it's
an
issue
of
cost
and
since
a
lot
of
this
money
is
coming
from
I
think
I'm,
not
sure.
If
it
looks
like
the
federal
government
subsidizes,
we
should
really
get
on
board
with
the
federal
government
and
say
to
them.
E
You
know
what
for
senior
housing,
maybe
you
we
classify
it
as
a
hospital
whatever,
and
maybe
we
need
a
full-blown
generator
that
does
all
the
services.
So
you
have
to
deal
with
the
evacuations.
You
know
to
deal
with
all
those
emergencies
and
people
can
still
stay
in
their
home.
If
there's
a
power
failure,
because
there
will
be
another
power
failure
in
the
future.
We
know
that
so
maybe
it's
the
issue
to
me
is
these
size
of
the
generator,
a
small
generator?
That's
not
gonna.
E
Do
the
job
versus
a
large
generator
that
will
cover
the
whole
property,
so
I'm,
just
making
that
statement.
Cuz
I,
think
that
is
the
solution.
The
question
is
how
it
gets
paid
for
and
if
we
can
use
the
federal
government
to
it,
that's
great.
There
is
one
of
the
thought
I
had
just
sitting
here,
and
that
is
in
these
cases
sometimes
I
mean
look
at
what
happened
on
Sansom
Street
between
13th
and
Brod.
The
building
called
one
two
three
South
borders
has
no
power.
E
They
have
a
huge
generator
outside
their
huge
gym,
powering
that
building
I'm
sure
insurance
is
paying
for
that.
So
one
of
my
thoughts
was
in
this
case.
Why
wouldn't
the
owner
call
in
a
third
party
supplier
for
a
generator,
that's
large
enough
to
power
the
building
and
see
if
his
insurance
would
cover
it
I'm
just
throwing
out
those
ideas
for
yourself
anyway,
Thank
You
mr.
chairman
you're,.
A
A
D
D
L
A
It's
my
understanding.
This
happened
in
in
in
September,
guess,
search
the
temperatures
are,
very
tolerable
might
be
little
too
hot,
maybe
maybe
not,
but
it's
if
you're
gonna
have
this
kind
of
a
situation.
It's
really
not
a
bad
time,
but
48
hours
is
totally
really
unacceptable
and
suppose
it
were
in
the
winter
yeah
when
it
was
really
cold
out.
You
couldn't
get
the
heat
wouldn't
work,
because
you
need
I
like
to
go
a
power
to
to
get
the
heat
to
go
on
weather,
no
matter
what
your
source
of
heat
is
with.
L
A
L
They
got
to
our
attention
that
they
had
a
full-blown
power
outage
on
Friday
September
2:14.
Well,
when
I
did
my
research
the
day
before
there
was
just
a
partial
outage
identified,
2-1
unoccupied
unit
that
was
handled
by
was
supposedly
being
handled
by
a
building
management,
so
it
wasn't
until
the
next
day
that
they
called
in
to
let
us
know
to
him.
A
L
One
of
the
things
that
would
really
enhance
this
type
of
situation
being
mitigated
as
expeditiously
as
possible
is,
if
all
occupants
knew
that
they
don't
have
to
wait
for
building
management.
You
can
call
9-1-1
we'll
get
out
there
and
we
can
heighten
it.
We
can
let
them
know
about
the
emergency
nature
of
having
a
power
out
for
a
half
an
hour
right.
L
So
so,
once
again,
once
once
it
was
identified
as
such
in
a
Philadelphia
Fire
Department
that
got
out
there,
we
made
sure
that
we
call
the
necessary
resources
to
mitigate
and
cared
into
the
care
of
the
occupants.
Once
again,
the
thing
that
that
really
would
have
made
a
difference
is
if
we
was
just
called
earlier
right.
C
A
Law
center,
but
before
this
panel
goes
I
want
to
say
I.
Thank
you
for
the
cooperation
that
you
have
all
showed
as
city
agencies,
I
think
it
should
be
noted
that
we
did
things
correct
on
our
end
at
least,
and
we're
doing
things
even
better
because
and
continue
to
do
better
because
of
our
our
committee
and
Councilwoman
Jones
and
Councilwoman
Blondell
Reynolds
Brown
I
mean
this
is
what
we
do
and
from
this
we
can
learn
that
henceforth,
that's
why
I'd
like
to
ask
how
this
finally
ends
up
in
the
court.
A
If
you
could
please
let
this
committee
know
how
this
all
works
out,
because
this
worked
out,
but
it
could
have
been
terribly
wrong.
We're
really
where
you
could
have
had
a
blizzard
going
on.
You
know
it
could
have
been
awful
and
to
prepare,
for
that
is
then
to
deal
with
saving
lives
and
making
lives
better
question.
Yes,.
C
C
C
So
one
circumstance
that
always
trouble
troubles
me
about
seniors
is
that
many
of
them
are
isolated
and,
as
councilman
Jones
said
just
asking
about
the
matters,
what
does
the
senior
Law
Center
do
with
regards
to
communicating
with
seniors
who
don't
have
a
computer
for
those
of
us
who
say
well,
there's
an
Internet
trash
that,
because
we're
talking
about
folks
or
70
80,
90,
100
years
old,
if
they're
so
blessed
to
get
there?
How
do
we
stay
in
touch
with
seniors?
How
do
we
keep
them
informed?
What
do
we
do
for
those
who
are
ended?
C
You
know
the
twilight
of
their
lives
and
want
to
be
feel,
safe
and
and
and
not
necessarily
taken
care
of,
but
at
least
to
feel
safe
in
their
own
circumstances.
What
does
the
senior
loss
center
along
those
lines?
For
example,
is
there
a
regular
communication
with
the
senior
citizen
centers
in
the
city
where
seniors
go
to
have
company
in
it
and
that
kind
of.
K
G
B
G
C
All
right,
and
so
what
are
the
linkages
with
L&I
office
of
emergency
shelter,
fire
department
on
matters
that
impact
seniors,
and
so
the
bigger
question
is
Offaly
that
we,
as
general
professionals,
operate
in
silos
and
to
the
extent
that
we
can
create
some
glue
and
connectedness
with
entities
who
are
all
in
the
same
business
of
taking
care
of
this
particular
constituency.
They
are
better
served
and
so
I'm
curious
to
know.
Might
there
be
any
existing
current?
C
Informed:
okay,
that's
encouraging
I'm
one
though
who
musta
standardized
practices
and
so
I'm
looking
to
see
how
we
can
make
that
those
type
of
relationships,
a
standard
operating
procedure,
that's
in
place.
Long
after
we're
gone,
you
follow
me
so
those
that's.
Why
I'm
asking
that
those
series
of
questions?
Thank
you
very
much.
My
pleasure
Thank
You.
A
Councilwoman,
thank
you.
One
point
of
clarification
from
my
questioning
I'd
ask
for
the
report
coming
back
from
the
Court
of
Common
Pleas,
as
it
relates
to
what
happened
here,
but
in
thinking
about
that
the
the
matter
before
the
court
is
actually
whether
they
had
a
license
or
not.
Maybe
what
I
could
what
I
would
like
if
it's
possible
between
your
departments?
Is
there
going
to
be
some
sort
of
final
report
on
a
Howie?
Why
we
got
here
and
what
was
the
cause
really
of
the
disruption
of
power?
A
H
A
I
We're
after
petrol
license
and
inspection
the
there's
two
real
requirements.
The
first
is
a
certification
that
the
system
is
working.
It's
opera,
that's
something
that's
turned
in
every
year.
We
pick
those
up
as
part
of
the
emergency,
the
annual
inspection
with
respect
to
cause.
That's
a
little
bit
unusual.
We
don't
typically
ask
for
that.
Really.
We
want
to
know
what
was
fixed
so
that
may
require
a
permit
to
do
repairs.
It
may
be
providing
some
kind
of
engineering,
because.
A
The
the
enormity
of
the
of
the
building
I
mean
that's
a
lot
of
people
there.
Well,
we
should
learn
from
it.
I
mean
because,
like
I
had
said,
it
happened
in
his
September
night
and
yes,
it's
inconvenient.
It's
not
good.
It
could
threaten
certain
certain
lies
certain
vulnerable
lives,
but
had
that
happened
in
January
or
February
in
a
in
in
adverse
weather
conditions,
it
could
have
been
an
absolute
calamity,
I
mean
of
record
proportions.
Yeah.
I
B
B
I
It's
underground
service
lines
and
Pecos
responsible
main
team.
It
could
have
been
that
I
think
what
we
need
to
do
is
find
out
exactly
what
the
cause
was
and
then
we
can
determine
because
typically,
for
example,
if
this
turned
out
that
they
had
to
replace
a
generator
I,
don't
know
that.
That's
what
happened
here,
but
if
they
don't.
E
B
A
A
We
leave
here,
it's
always
been
tradition
at
the
call
on
a
chair
and
there
are
some
open
items,
and
maybe
we
ought
to
have
at
least
Pico
bring
information
to
us,
maybe
not
in
a
formal
hearing,
but
certainly
by
letter
and
indicating
like
what
Wong
leanness
because
I'm
one
to
believe
that
we
learn
from
these
things
and
we
make
life
better.
And
if
we
don't
do
that,
we're
shirking
our
responsibilities
as
legislators
and
as
far
as
the
department's
are
concerned
as
well,
because
we
want
to
make
you
know
things
better.
A
When
there's
a
you
know
an
accident
of
any
sort
in
the
federal
government,
whether
it
involves
trucks
or
airplanes
or
ships,
it's
study,
so
it
doesn't
happen
again
and
I
truly
believe
and
in
many
cases
as
far
as
safety
is
concerned,
on
a
federal
level,
it
traditionally
has
averted
a
lot
of
real
bad
situations
because
we
learned
from
the
previous
ones
it's
an
American
tradition.
I
would
think
it's
something
we
oughta
do
as
well.
E
D
A
A
B
Resolution:
one
nine
zero,
zero,
eight,
nine,
a
resolution
authorizing
hearings
to
be
held
on
potential
for
abuse
in
the
guardianship
appointment
process,
instant
and
a
financial
burdens
that
such
abuse
could
have
when
individuals
being
placed
in
the
garden.
The
first
panel
is
Samuel
Brooks
in
diameter.
D
D
This
is
more
germane
to
who
is
authorized
to
look
after
their
financial
affairs
to
make
determinations
about
where
and
how
they
will
live,
make
guardianship
decisions
that
affect
their
lives
and
sometimes
in
spite
of
their
best
wishes
or
well
wishes,
and
so
we
want
to
take
a
look
at
this
hearing
today
for
the
potential
of
abuse
of
guardianship,
a
point
in
the
appointment
process,
specifically
financial
abuse.
That
can
happen
in
that
process.
The
legal
definition
of
a
guardian
is
any
qualified
individual
who
is
appointed
by
the
court
to
represent
an
incapacitated
person.
D
An
incapacitated
person
is
an
adult
that
the
court
finds
to
be
unable
to
manage
their
financial
resources
or
provide
for
their
own
physical
health
and
safety.
Guardians
are
supposed
to
protect.
Imma,
say
that
again,
guardians
are
supposed
to
protect,
incapacitated
people
and
serve
in
their
best
interests.
There
are
times
when
the
appointed
guardian
is
trusted
by
family
members
or
friends,
but
oftentimes.
These
individuals
are
lawyers
who
are
awarded
fees
that
are
in
order
to
take
care
of
incapacitated
people,
and
these
incapacitated
people
must
pay.
D
These
guardians
can
make
decisions
regarding
the
incapacitator
person's
financial
or
receiving
federal
benefits
or
on
behalf
of
the
individual.
While
many
guardians
serve
the
best
interests
of
the
incapacitated
person,
they
are
appointed
to
protect,
often
sometimes
every
now,
and
then
people
take
advantages
of
vulnerable
individuals.
According
to
a
report
done
by
the
Social
Security
Administration
in
2014,
approximately
60%
of
the
courts
do
not
review
the
credit
history
of
potential
guardians
and
about
40%
do
not
conduct
criminal
background
checks
for
potential
Guardians.
D
In
my
office
we
have
received
several
complaints
from
seniors
across
the
years
who
believe
that
the
guardians
that
were
supposed
to
appoint
it
was
stealing
from
them
or
believe
that
they
were
deemed
incapacitated
when
they
were
not
incapacitated.
Given
these
statistics
and
my
knowledge
of
these
complaints,
it
is
important
that
we
had
this
hearing
today.
D
The
purpose
of
this
hearing
is
to
bring
the
issue
to
the
public
attention
and
ensure
that
systematic
design
to
protect
systems
designed
to
protect
our
seniors
from
abuse
and
neglect
function
properly
and
that
guardianship
process
in
Philadelphia
is
adequately
overseen
so
that
we
can
correct
any
defalcation
that
may
about.
In
China.
D
Children
who
grew
up
to
be
adults
are
mandated
to
pay
for
their
parents
care.
That
is
effect
it's
in
Reverse
here
in
Italy,
because
of
how
seniors
are
treated
by
society,
they
tend
to
live
longer.
They
can't
figure
it
out.
They
check
the
water,
they
check
the
food,
they
even
check
the
bird,
the
weather,
to
see.
If
it
matters
no,
is
because
they're
held
in
high
regard
by
society
in
America
and
in
Philadelphia
all
we
want
to
do.
We
don't
need
to
make
them
live
longer.
D
A
N
Certainly,
thank
you
chairman
Calvin
burger
and
Thank
You,
councilman,
Jones
and
the
rest
of
the
committee.
My
name
is
Samuel
Brooks
and
I'm,
an
attorney
in
Aging
and
disabilities
unit
of
Community
Legal
Services,
also
known
as
CLS
and
I'm
grateful
to
be
here
today
and
I'm.
Grateful
that
you're
bringing
this
important
issue
to
light.
There's
a
guardianship
crisis
in
Philadelphia.
Although
guardianship
can
be
a
very
helpful
tool
when
a
loved
one
cannot
act
independently.
N
We
are
seeing
many
cases
where
seniors
and
people
with
disabilities
are
unnecessarily
losing
the
ability
to
make
decisions
for
themselves
and
remain
independent
at
home.
Every
year,
some
of
Philadelphia's
most
vulnerable
citizens
go
through
a
judicial
guardianship
process
that
often
results
in
the
loss
of
their
basic
civil
rights
and
can
lead
to
unnecessary
institutionalization
in
nursing
homes.
N
Cls
has
represented
Philadelphians
in
every
stage
of
the
Guardian
procced
guardianship
process,
from
representing
him,
individuals
to
the
initial
judicial
process
to
helping
individuals
have
a
guardian
removed,
and
we
have
witnessed
firsthand
the
problems
that
pervade
the
guardianship
process.
A
recent
reporting
by
the
Philadelphia
Inquirer
and
the
Redding
Eagle
revealed
that
for
months
in
Philadelphia
Court,
the
Philadelphia
courts
had
been
appointing
a
professional
Guardian
with
a
criminal
history
of
financial
fraud.
N
Judicial
scrutiny
revealed
that
for
some
of
the
individuals
for
which
she
was
Guardian
money
and
was
unaccounted
for,
another
instance
CLS
discovered
that
a
guardian
who
was
Guardian
for
dozens
of
people
in
Philadelphia
in
the
surrounding
counties
had
permanently
moved
to
South
Carolina
without
informing
the
court
and
essentially
abandoned
abandoning
dozens
of
vulnerable
senior
citizens
who
were
in
need
a
significant
support.
These
stories
of
exploitative
or
negligent
Guardians
bring
needed
attention
to
the
guardianship
process.
However,
bad
guardians
are
just
a
part
of
a
system
that
is
in
need
of
significant
reforms.
N
The
stakes
in
the
guardianship
process
are
extremely
high.
A
person
can
lose
every
one
of
their
civil
liberties
and
have
their
rights
such
as
where
they
want
to
live
and
how
to
manage
their
own
finances.
Given
to
a
stranger,
a
person
can
be
unsuccessful.
E-Excuse
me
unnecessarily
forced
to
move
into
a
nursing
home
and
then
have
their
home
cells
and
their
money
squandered
on
care.
They
do
not
need,
unfortunately,
Pennsylvania
is
in
the
minority
of
states
that
does
not
appoint
counsel
for
all
individuals
subject
to
a
guardianship
petition.
N
Pennsylvania
should
join
the
majority
of
states
that
recognize
that
the
guardianship
process
is
a
complex
judicial
process
in
which
an
individual's
basic
rights
hang
in
the
balance
and
require
that
counsel
be
appointed
for
all
individuals
subject
to
a
guardianship
petition.
Further
dissappointed
counsel
must
be
required
to
zealously
advocate
on
behalf
of
their
client.
N
Additionally,
in
philadelphia,
the
courts
must
take
better
steps
to
ensure
that
the
person
subject
to
a
guardianship
petition
is
actually
present
at
the
hearing,
unfortunately,
and
is
not
uncommon
in
Philadelphia
for
an
individual
to
have
a
guardian
appointed
without
the
person
being
represented
by
counsel
or
even
being
present
at
that
hearing
CLS
is
presented
in
excuse
me
has
represented
individuals
who
had
Guardians
appointed
without
them
even
being
aware
of
it.
Pennsylvania
law
requires
the
guardianship
pursued
only
after
less
restrictive
means
have
failed
where
Guardian
is
needed.
N
Priority
should
be
given
to
allowing
family
members
to
serve
as
Guardian
rather
than
individuals
acting
as
professional
Guardians.
Typically,
family
members
are
more
knowledgeable
about
an
individual's
needs.
Courts
have
recognized
this
fact
and
give
preference
to
family
members,
along
with
preference
for
family
members.
Training
and
support
should
be
offered
to
family
members
acting
as
Guardians.
Once
someone
has
become
a
guardian,
they
have
specific
legal
duties
with
which
they
must
comply.
These
rules
are
complicated
and
can
lead
to
confusion
for
lay
Guardians.
N
There
must
be
supports
in
place
to
help
ensure
that
family
members
are
aware
of
their
duties
enable
to
comply
with
them.
Unfortunately,
there
will
be
instances
where
there
is
no
family
member
to
act
as
guardian
for
an
individual
and
a
professional
Guardian
will
need
to
be
appointed.
Currently
there
are
a
few
professional
or
training
or
clients
for
someone
who
wants
to
serve
as
a
professional
Guardian,
as
mentioned
before,
a
simple
google
search
for
field
that
one
professional
Guardian
had
a
sordid
criminal
history
involving
financial
fraud.
N
Yet
she
was
appointed
dozens
of
times
to
oversee
the
finances
of
some
of
Philadelphia's,
most
vulnerable
residents
criminal
background
checks.
Checks
should
be
required
for
all
professional
Guardians.
Additionally,
it
should
be
a
certification
process
that
ensures
professional
Guardians,
are
properly
trained
and
meet
adequate
practice
standards.
Currently,
the
system
incentivizes
the
institutionalization
of
individuals
with
professional
guardians,
current
Medicaid
rules
provide
that
guardians
can
only
be
paid
for
their
services
if
the
person
under
guardianship
is
in
a
nursing
home,
but
not
if
they
are
receiving
care
in
the
community.
N
This
creates
an
incentive
to
place
the
person
under
guardianship
in
a
nursing
home
and
then
often
results
in
the
liquidation
of
an
individual's
estate,
including
their
homes.
These
monetary
incentives
to
institutionalize
individuals
must
be
removed.
They
are
ripe
with
potential
for
abuse.
Guardians
also
must
be
properly
monitored,
Guardians
required
to
file
reports
each
year
of
the
court
detailing
the
care
provided
for
the
individual
on
your
guardianship
and
how
their
funds
were
handled.
However,
courts
throughout
the
Commonwealth
lack
the
staff
to
review
these
reports.
N
Some
of
these
reports
reveal
the
expenditure
of
thousands
or
even
hundreds
of
thousands
of
dollars
by
Guardians
without
explanation.
If
the
annual
points
are
reviewed,
however,
these
situations
are
not
detected
and
no
action
is
taken
to
the
Philadelphia
orphans
court
credit.
It
has
taken
some
steps
to
increase
protections
for
these
individuals
subject
to
guardianship.
There
is
a
new
statewide
guardian
tracking
system
in
place
that
promises
to
better
monitor
Guardians
by
electronically
notifying
the
courts
when
reports
contain
information
which
needs
further
investigation.
N
Additionally,
the
court
has
dedicated
a
staff
member
to
monitor
these
reports
and
to
take
action
when
it
report
indicates,
there
may
be
a
potential
problem.
We
hope
and
believe
that
the
Philadelphia
orphans
Court
will
continue
to
institute
reforms
that
ensure
better
protection
for
individuals
subject
to
guardianship.
Lastly,
and
we
believe
for
most,
guardianship
should
only
be
pursued
when
all
other
options
have
been
proven
to
be
ineffective
instead
of
a
guardian
would
increase
social
or
health
supports.
Allow
a
person
to
remain
mates
gives
we
maintain
their
rights
and
autonomy
in
the
community.
N
Do
families
need
additional
support
to
help
a
loved
one
maintain
their
home
so
that
they
can
avoid
being
placed
in
a
nursing
home?
Only
when
all
else
fails
fails
should
guardianship
be
allowed.
Fortunately,
some
of
these
issues
are
being
addressed
on
the
state
level
and
here
today,
with
potential
legislation,
state
senator
art,
Heywood
plans
on
reintroducing
a
guardianship
bill
that
will
require
council
for
all
individuals
subject
to
a
guardianship
petition,
as
well
as
criminal
background
checks
and
certification
and
professional
Guardians.
N
However,
Philadelphia
courts
can
take
immediate
action
by
appointing
counsel
for
all
individuals
subject
to
a
guardianship
and
petition
sharing.
Individuals
are
present
at
guardianship.
Hearings
appointing
family
members
when
possible,
if
guardians
are
necessary
and
increasing
scrutiny
and
all
guardians,
most
importantly,
must
all
work
together,
discover
alternatives
to
guardianship
that
can
preserve
the
dignity
and
the
rights
of
our
fellow
Philadelphians.
Ensure
justice
is
present
for
all.
Thank
you
for
letting
me
come
today.
O
We're
thank
thank
you
for
I'm
Diane
menu
and
I'm
the
executive
director
of
the
Center
for
advocacy
for
the
rights
and
interests
of
the
elderly.
We
like
to
make
it
easier
for
you
and
we
call
ourselves
Carrie.
Thank
you
for
inviting
us
here
today.
This
is
an
issue
that
that
we
are
very,
very
concerned
about,
and
we
hear
about
every
day.
O
I
just
want
to
first
say
that
a
lot
of
my
my
remarks
are
echoed
in
Sam's
remarks:
I'll
just
kind
of
cut
to
the
chase
here,
rather
than
give
you
the
whole
the
whole
testimony,
but
one
of
the
things
that
I
wanted
to
mention.
You
know
in
Philadelphia,
when
you
were
talking
about
the
the
issue
of
guardianship
and
how
it
affects
older
Philadelphians
it
Philadelphia
has.
It
has
a
very
poor.
O
O
So
so
some
of
these
things
you
know
when
we're
talking
about
guardianship,
we
have
to
think
about
who
ends
up
in
guardianship
as
well
and
many
times
we
find
people
who
are
really
neglected
throughout
the
process
of
the
system,
and
so
we
need
to
find
more
ways
to
help
people
who
are
in
need
every
day.
So
that's
just
you
know
and
I
want
to
talk
a
little
bit
about
what
we
hear
in
our
office.
We
basically
are
in
our
office.
We
we've
been
around
since
1977.
We
do
advocacy
at
several
different
levels.
O
We
do
public
policy
advocacy,
we
do
education
and
training,
but
we
also
talk
to
individuals
and
they're,
the
ones
who
teach
us
about
the
problems.
So
our
core
program,
the
carey
line,
is
a
free,
comprehensive
source
of
information,
guidance
and
referral
and
advocacy
for
older
adults
and
their
caregivers
will
really
talk
to
anybody
who
calls
us
and
we
want
to
help
them,
navigate
this
really
complex
system
of
how
aging
we
take
all
the
calls
that
come
to
us.
We
over
the
past
10
years
or
so
calls
about
guardianship
have
been
increasing.
O
Prior
to
that,
we
usually
got
calls
about
guardianship
from
a
family
member
who
was
concerned
and
wanted
to
file
a
position'
petition
for
guardianship,
it's
very
difficult
for
people
to
get
help
with
that.
It
costs
money
to
file
a
petition.
It's
also
in,
and
you
know
that
the
guardianship
tracking
system
is
great,
but
it
also
creates
another
requirement
for
family
guardians
who
may
not
be
able
to
do
the
reporting
in
the
same
way
they
need
help
with
that
I
know
they
definitely
need
to
report
and
I,
don't
want
to
argue
against
that
and
the
so.
O
So
we
hear
from
families
who
are
prevented
from
visiting
their
loved
one
by
a
professional
Guardian.
They
have
no
part
in
the
decision-making
and
are
often
not
privy
to
financial
statements.
So
when
once
the
a
professional
Guardian
is
named,
this
could
be
an
attorney
or
somebody
who,
who
is
a
guardian
and
professional,
is
a
loose
term
for
Guardian
is
when
once
that
person
is
named,
they
have
full
control
over
the
person.
O
The
judge,
the
court
has
some
discretion
to
be
able
to
limit
certain
duties
of
that
person
or
give
them
extra
duties,
but
but
generally
they're
able
to
make
those
decisions.
So
what
we
hear
from
people
is
family
members
calling
us
and
saying
you
know.
My
mother
has
a
had
a
guardian
named
and
she's
in
a
nursing
home
now,
and
we
wanted
to
take
care
of
her
at
home.
O
The
the
other
thing
I
wanted
to
say
is
that
when
you
were
talking
about
in
your
opening
statement
about
people
with
incapacity
need,
and
guardianship
and
I
want
to
just
make,
the
distinction
here
is
that
people,
yes,
a
person,
needs
to
be
incapacitated
in
order
to
have
a
Guardian
named,
but
they
also
have
to
be
in
need
of
a
guardian
which
are
two
different
things.
You
know
we
it's
and
not,
or,
and
so
the
the
issue,
some
people
who
get
into
the
system
already
have
a
support
system
around
them.
They
may
have.
O
Someone
may
have
the
the
agent
under
the
power
of
attorney.
There
are
many
different
issues
involved
here.
One
of
the
things
that
often
triggers
the
appointment
of
a
professional
Guardian
or
an
attorney
is
in
fighting
within
the
family,
so
one
daughter
has
is
the
agent
and
other
daughter
or
son,
doesn't
like
what
she's
doing
and
goes
to
court
and
oftentimes,
even
though
one
of
those
family
members
may
be
fine
to
be
named
as
the
guardian,
it
ends
up
being
because
they're
fighting.
O
We
support
the
in
different
interventions
like
mediation,
for
instance,
there
is
very
good
mediation
in
this
city.
We
have
a
organization
that
does
elder
mediation,
and
so
we
need
to
do
more
and,
as
Sam
said,
we
need
to
have
more
alternatives.
Let's
try
to
protect
people
without
having
them
lose
all
their
rights.
Another
frequent
call
wheat
yet
is
from
that
incapacitated
person
themselves.
Sometimes
they
don't
understand
what
happened
to
them,
or
even
why
they
went
to
court
one
time.
O
I
had
a
gentleman
call
me
and
I
asked
him,
and
he
stalled
me
because
he
was
upset
because
he
went
into
his
bank
and
he
didn't
have
access
to
his
money
and
the
other
thing
he
told
me
what
that
is,
that
he
was
upset
because
his
guardian
do
pay
his
his
electric
bill
and
he
always
paid
his
bills
on
time.
So
he
and
by
the
way
he
also
emailed
me
all
of
his
statements,
so
that
I
could
see
what
was
happening,
and
so
he
I
said
to
him.
I
said
well.
O
Did
you
understand
why
you
were
in
court
and
he
said
because
my
son
was
mad
at
me
and
he
you
know
he
had
an
argument
with
his
son.
This
all
happened.
It
was
a
long
story,
but
nevertheless
no
one
really
gave
him
the
information
he
needed
to
process
that
this
is
what
was
going
to
happen
to
him
and
it's
a
long
story.
But
it's
not
a
good.
It's
not
a
happy
ending
in
this
story.
O
Other
times
they
tell
us
that
the
Guardian
doesn't
visit
them
doesn't
give
them
spending
money
on
a
regular
schedule
and
some
callers
make
us
wonder
why
they
have
a
guardian
at
all.
Like
the
gentleman
I
just
mentioned
mentioned.
Sadly,
many
elders
have
been
placed
under
guardianship,
not
only
weren't
represented
by
counsel,
but
they
did
not
even
have
the
benefit
of
attending
the
hearing,
and
when
we've
looked
at
transcripts
they
haven't
or
talked
to
them.
They
weren't
even
questioned.
In
fact,
the
guy
I
just
told
you
about
I
asked
him.
O
I
said:
what
did
the
judge
ask
you
questions
and
the
answer
he
gave
me
was,
he
said.
Well,
I
won't
tell
you,
because
now
this
will
name
the
judge
and
I.
Don't
want
to
do
that
that
where
he
was
that
the
judge
had
had
heard
a
very
made
a
decision
on
a
very
public
case,
and
so
he
started
asking
him
about
that
and
then
he
started
talking
because
they
both
played
bridge
and
they
started
talking
in
detail
about
bridge.
O
So,
but
no
questions
about
you
know
for
him
to
answer
in
terms
of
his
own
capacity
in
19
2013,
the
Pennsylvania
Department
of
Aging
funded
us
to
do
a
study
on
guardianship,
and
so
we
did
a
study
throughout
Pennsylvania
to
see
what
was
happening
here,
because
in
large
part
we
really
don't
know
what's
happening.
This
new
tracking
system
will
at
least
give
us
some
data,
but
until
now
we
really
haven't
even
had
that,
and
so
we
looked
at
best
practices
all
over
the
country.
O
One
of
the
things
we
learned
was
that
that
incapacitated
person
wasn't
present
at
the
year.
Was
president
the
hearing
only
31
percent
of
the
time
that
doesn't
make
sense
to
me
at
all,
and
they
don't
have
legal
representation.
Twenty-Five
percent
of
the
time
the
and
the
lawyers
that
we
we
caught.
We
talked
to
lawyers.
O
Forty
two
percent
of
them
said
that
they
were
not
asked
by
the
court
to
demonstrate
that
they
had
explored
alternatives
to
guardianship
and
that's
in
the
statutes
they're
supposed
to
make
that
that
plea,
having
counseling
port
appointed
in
each
case
is
important.
But
it's
also
important
to
remember
what
the
role
of
counsel
is.
We
strongly
believe
that
counsel,
in
all
cases,
should
jealously
advocate
for
the
expressed
wishes
of
the
alleged
incapacitated
person
with
effective
counsel.
We
may
be
able
to
prevent
guardianship.
O
Sware
alternatives
are
available
where
the
individual,
although
incapacitated,
doesn't
eat,
doesn't
need
a
guardian
or
help
to
make
sure
that
that
limited
GART
that
that
there
is
a
limited
guardianship
is
used
if
it's
called
for.
So
we
really
need
to
make
sure
we're
doing
the
right
thing
by
people
and
so
I'm
gonna
go
I'm
gonna
skip
over
this,
and
some
of
my
recommendations
are
the
same
as
Sams
I've
been
involved
with
the
the
pennsylvania
supreme
court
working
on
these
issues
for
the
past.
O
I
guess
it's
been
about
five
five
or
six
years
now
and
we've
made
some
changes.
There's
a
new
rule
orphans
court
rule
coming
out
in
june
1st
of
this
year.
That
will
require
background
checks.
It
won't
go
as
far
as
the
legislation
and
that's
why
we
need
senator
Heywood's
legislation,
so
we
do
support
that.
O
We
believe
very
strongly
that
the
judge
there
should
be
judicial
discretion
when
that
decision
is
made
when
they
see
what
the
background
is-
and
you
know,
we
think
that
okay,
I'm
gonna
finish
now,
but
I
wanted
one
of
the
last
things
I
wanted
to
say
is
I'm
leaving
I
I
left
you
a
document
I
believe
you
have
my
testimony
and
I
left
a
separate
document,
and
this
document
is
a
project
that
we
developed
and
we
tried.
We've
been
trying
to
get
it
funded
for
a
number
of
years.
O
It's
been
challenging,
but
it's
a
modeled
after
the
court-appointed
Special
Advocates
program
for
children.
We
believe
that
if
an
advocate
is
appointed
at
the
time
the
petition
is
filed,
we
can
make
sure
that
the
family
members
that
need
to
be
notified
have
been
notified
by
the
way.the
in
in
Pennsylvania.
O
D
D
But
everybody
in
that
house
was
going
to
be
homeless
cuz.
They
want
to
sell
that
property
in
order
to
take
care
of
auntie.
No
one
knows
whether
auntie
wanted
to
leave
or
not,
but
that
was
the
ruling
of
the
court
which
caught
my
attention
after
that,
maybe
a
couple
years
later,
there
was
a
well-known
radio
personality
who
had
amassed
a
considerable
amount
of
money
during
their
years
kept
it.
You
know
in
you
know,
under
the
pillow,
I
guess,
and
their
grandson
was
appointed
to
Guardian.
They
did
not
know.
D
There
was
financial
problems
until
she
received
an
eviction
notice
of
her
condo
and
an
eviction
from
her
storage
facility,
because
these
were
bills
that
were
not
being
paid.
So
that
was
the
tip
of
the
iceberg
to
know
that
these
problems
existed
in
a
big
way
and
I'm
very
concerned
so
yeah.
We'll
recap:
there
is
no
standard
by
which
you
have
to
go
through
a
license
or
review
to
be
a
guardian,
including
criminal
background
and
including
an
abuse,
checks
and
financial
convictions
or
anything
like
well.
O
O
Would
it
would
be
a
nice
thing
if
they
had
a
background
check,
even
though
you
know
it's
not
required,
but
as
I
said,
they
will
be
required,
June
1st,
by
the
courts
of
Pennsylvania,
where
there
will
be
a
requirement.
What
is
not
required
is
any
kind
of
there's
no
list
of
offenses
that
would
preclude
them
from
being
Guardian.
The
the
legislation
that's
been
introduced
would
come
closer
to
giving
some
guidelines
I
mentioned.
N
That
was
the
Gloria
Byers
case.
She
she
had
been,
there
had
been
some
missing
funds
and
finally,
it
came
to
a
head
when
an
attorney
discovered
this
and
brought
it
to
the
attention
of
the
court.
The
courts,
credit
to
the
Philadelphia
warrants
court
credit.
They
immediately
removed
her
from
all
her
cases
and
just
to
speak
to
the
background
check
to
the
courts
creditor
as
well.
N
It
is
itself
instituted
her
background
check,
requirement
a
criminal
criminal
history
check
in
response
to
what
happened
with
the
buyers
case,
and
they
have
unilaterally
done
that
whether
and
require
new
guardians
to
have
that
background
check.
The
the
current
legislation
would
only
apply
likely
will
only
apply
to
professional
guardians
so
as
not
to
prevent
family
members
who
were
preferable
in
our
opinion
and
I
think
to
most
people
to
prevent
them
from
service
I'm.
N
O
It's
one
of
the
everythink
they
are,
they
must
be
served
with
the
petition
how
it
served.
As
you
know,
one
of
one
of
the
things
I've
heard.
Sometimes
the
petitioner
has
an
attorney
and
the
petitioners
attorney
serves
it's.
You
know
questionable
in
some
cases
whether
or
not
that
attorney
explained
things
to
them
properly,
including
their
right
to
counsel
and
because
the
way
the
statute
reads
it
currently,
if
some
they
are,
they
are
they
are,
they
do
have
access
to
counsel,
but
they
have
to
request
counsel.
O
D
Watching
often
in
first
a
month
or
whenever
those
checks
come
in
family
members
that
just
and
I
don't
mean
the
typecast
anybody,
but
just
don't
seem
like
the
caring
type
walking
grandmom
into
the
bank.
You
know
handling
her
financial
transactions
and
I.
Just
worry
that
there's
no
standard
to
guard
her.
You
know
our
eyesight
is
failing
and
instead
of
that
$100
there
might
be
one
thousand
dollars
being
taken
out
and,
and
there
has
to
be
a
better
way
to
guard
people.
D
O
D
D
D
O
D
I'm
going
to
tread
on
thin
ice
here
and
ask
conceivably
hypothetically
I,
know
no
person
like
this.
If
judge
Tom
burger
now
right
elevation,
you
know
I've
worked
very
hard
to
get
him
in
office.
I
did
fundraisers
for
him
because
he's
prohibited
from
raising
his
own
funds
and
I'm
a
lawyer
and
then
all
of
a
sudden
he's
in
orphan
court
and
who's
his
favorite
appointee
to
guardianship.
That
could
be
me
right
and
so.
D
O
How
do
we,
but
we
try
to
educate
people,
to
have
a
trusted
person
to
have
to
name
an
agent
under
a
power
of
attorney?
Who
is
trusted?
And
you
know,
unfortunately,
a
lot
of
people
name,
their
oldest
child?
They
may
or
not
be
the
best
person
to
do
it,
and
so
we
we
encourage
people
to
have
someone
that
they
can
trust.
Also,
there's
you
know
we
encourage
people
not
to
put
somebody's
name
on
their
bank
accounts
friends,
so
somebody.
D
O
N
N
The
law
requires
the
annually,
you
file
a
report
that
is
twofold
report
about
the
person,
which
is
how
how
he's
doing
where
he's
living,
how
his
what
his
diagnoses
are,
what
his
prognosis
is
and
whether
you
believe
that
a
guardianship
should
still
continue.
In
addition
to
that,
there's
a
report
about
the
estate
and
historically,
especially
in
Philadelphia.
This
was
something
that
you
just
filed.
N
You
put
how
much
money
you
spent
from
the
principle
of
that
estate,
what
you
spent
it
on
and
you
submitted
it,
but
it
was
well
known
that
those
were
never
reviewed
that
the
courts
this
took
them,
they
were
docketed
and
no
one
was
reviewing
them
to
their
credit
and
I
I'm,
not
sure
that
this
was
out
of
spite
or
negligence
or
just
they
didn't
have
the
resources
to
do
it,
because
they've
certainly
instituted
some
some
reforms
now
and
are
much
more
they're.
Looking
at
these
much
more
strictly
and
we
applaud
them
for
that.
N
N
D
N
A
good
question
to
our
knowledge:
she
has
not
suffered
any
criminal
repercussions
to
I
know
that
I
mean
there
probably
would
need
to
be
a
forensic
accountant
that
would
have
to
go
through
all
the
documents
so
and
it
wasn't
just
in
Philadelphia,
as
well
as
in
the
surrounding
counties,
I'm,
not
sure
where
she
is
now
and
to
be
clear.
We
don't
oppose
people
with
criminal
records
acting
as
guardians,
but
she
there
was
where
there
was
smoke.
There
was
fire
with
her
and
that
was
discovered
and
anecdotally,
as
well
from
other
Guardians,
how
she
behaved.
O
It
was
people
a
lot
of
the
people
that
she
was
Guardian
for
were
the
people
that
I
talked
about
the
low-income
people.
They
may
have
owned
a
property,
but
they
generally
qualified
for
Medicaid
when
they
went
into
the
nursing
home
because
in
part
because
they
spent
down
that
estate.
But
but
it
is
it's
hard
to
know
without,
as
as
Sam
said,
you
really
need
a
forensic
accountant
to
dig
into
all
of
that
in
France.
O
O
Well
it
just
it,
it
does
supersede
the
local
rules.
So
if
there
is
something
Philadelphia,
it
needs
to
do.
That's
not
in
the
current
rules
or
if
it's
court
rules,
they
can
do
it,
but
they
have
to
get
approval
by
and
some
of
them
actually
have
already
gotten
approval
to
to
have
their
own
local
rules,
so
they
have
to
get
approval
from
the
Supreme
Court.
To
my
knowledge,
that's.
N
Correct
but
I
think
this
is
a
good
thing.
I
think
the
rules
that
are
coming
now
are
more
robust
and
will
do
better
to
protect
seniors
and
people
with
disabilities.
So
I
it's
a
good.
It's
a
good
thing
and
I
think
there's
still
room
for
innovation.
Locally
I
mean
Philadelphia
is
always
gonna
have
the
most
Guardian
ships,
because
we're
an
aging
population-
and
we
have
we
have
a
lot
of
people
here
in
Philadelphia-
really
needs
to.
O
Can
I
add
I
want
to
I
want
to
make
just
throw
in
something
else
here,
and
that
is
that
a
large
number
of
the
people,
older
people
who
end
up
in
orphans
Court
with
the
guardianship
petition,
come
through
the
older
adult
protective
services
department,
which
is
at
Philadelphia
Corporation
for
aging,
the
Inspector
General
in
Pennsylvania
audited,
Protective
Services
across
Pennsylvania,
probably
about
a
year
ago.
They
released
an
executive
summary.
O
O
N
One
thing
I
think
about
Diane's:
putting
the
main
driver
of
guardianship
in
Philadelphia
are
not
individuals,
it's
been
the
older
adult
protective
services
and
nursing
homes.
It's
the
most
common
instance
of
where
someone
isn't
present
at
our
gearing
is
when
it's
a
nursing
home.
There's
a
nursing
home
attorney,
oh
bring
in
four
or
five
batch
of
petitions,
and
all
that
attorney
has
to
say
is
your
honor:
are
they
they
can't
make
decisions
for
themselves?
They
can't
come
here
because
they're
in
a
nursing
home
and
that's
very
common.
N
Unfortunately-
and
it's
we
have
represented
those
individuals
when
they
want
to
go
home,
they
don't
have
a
home
or
they
want
to
go
somewhere
else.
They
can,
because
they
have
a
guardian,
that
they
don't
know.
So
that's
I
think
those
are
the
two
prime
movers
are
older
dogs,
detective
services
and
nursing
homes
and
I'm.
Certainly
there's
families
but
families
resolve
these
issues.
Oftentimes,
it's
it's
it's
where
there
isn't
a
family
and
and
sometimes
it's
more
complicated
where,
where
those
for
guardianship
succumb.
N
N
They
were
they're
isolated
at
home
and
older
adult
protective
services
comes
in
and
they
take
they
take
a
sword
and
just
take
extreme
action
when
really
what
that
person
needs
is
additional
supports,
so
I
think
guidance,
not
just
just
this
hearing
today
is,
is
going
to
help
to
bring
attention
to
this
matter
because
it's
flown
under
the
radar.
So
we
need
alternatives
to
guardianship,
more
support
for
seniors
who
are
in
crisis
and,
in
addition,
supporting
the
court
in
in
their
efforts
to
do
background
checks
and
monitor
Guardians
more
more
appropriately.
A
N
Certainly
I
mean
the
rules
that
government
our
state
law
and
then
there's
the
state
code
and
then
underneath
that
there
are
the
local
rules
that
have
been
developed
not
uniformly
across
the
Commonwealth
and
certainly
Philadelphia
can
create
its
own
rules.
That
might
be
more
innovative,
but
they
would
need
approval
from
the
state,
Supreme,
Court
and
I.
Don't
think!
That's
a
Herculean
task
to
get
that
approval
and
I
think
that
I
think
the
Supreme
Court
would
understand
the
uniqueness
of
Philadelphia.
Well.
A
O
A
N
O
O
A
O
N
O
A
O
A
M
Sidney
Hill
apartments
independent
living
facility,
they
were
supposed
to
have
contacted
the
family
member
when
they
came
in
to
make
her
sign
documentation
and
they
were
claiming
that
she
didn't
know
what
she
was
doing
or
saying
we
didn't
receive
any
phone
calls
with
the
waveone
file
and
they
took
action
in
their
own
hands
and
took
her
benefit
made
us
on
documents.
We
don't
know
what
was
signed.
The
next
thing
I
know
she.
They
were
the
payee
of
my
mother
in
2005
again.
M
We
had
when
I
moved
my
mom
into
these
Sandy
Hill
apartment
I,
requested
me
and
my
mother
to
fill
out
documents
for
me
to
become
her
power
of
attorney,
which
the
Miss
Robertson
wish
was
the
super
social
worker.
There
snatched
the
garden
the
documents
out
of
my
hands
once
she
gave
them
to
me,
claiming
that
she
can't
allow
me
to
fill
out
the
documents
and
I
asked
her.
Why
and
she
said
you
would
have
to
contact
PCA,
which
was
Sanford
proffer
at
the
time.
A
M
A
A
M
I
was
there
and
they
told
me
when
we
went
to
court
when
they
when
PCA
said
this
court
thing
up.
That
day
was
gonna,
appoint
a
guardian
for
my
mother,
which
I
didn't
understand
why
Wow
I'm
near
taking
care.
So
they
said
that
she
they
was
opposed
to
a
hat.
Asked
me
if
I
wanted
to
be
the
guardian,
you
know
since
I'm
taking
care
and
that
didn't
take
place.
They
did
nothing
take
place.
They
had
me
come
into
court
just
for
them
to
appoint
Howard.
No,
what
was
it
the
point?
M
Howard
Salomon
as
guardian
I,
don't
even
know
who
he
was
or
anything
like.
You
just
said
they
picked
him
out
of
her
head
mm-hmm,
so
it
went
from
there
and
I
was
not
satisfied
and
sent
a
letter.
Complaining
I
was
not
satisfied
with
the
Guardian
being
appointed
and
why
wasn't
I
appointed
and
they
tell
you
to
submit
that
information
within
a
twenty
period,
20-day
period
which
I
did
and
I
didn't
get
no
response.
M
When
how
it
became
the
payee,
my
mother
didn't
receive
any
income
for
about
three
months.
So
let
me
want
to
continue
on
taking
care
of
her
financially
and
then,
when
Howard
Salomon
started
sit
sending
funds
out
for
her.
He
was
only
sending
her
one
hundred
dollars
a
month
so
and
that's
where
I
had
to
still
continue
one
taking
care
her
off
of
my
benefit,
because
they
would
not
sit
and
hurt
enough
money
for
her
to
live
over
for
her
family.
K
M
M
My
question
was:
why
would
she
be
accused
of
Owen
thirteen
thousand
dollars
when
she
hasn't
been
receiving
her
income
for
all
since
2005,
but
they
are
claiming
she
owes
the
thirteen
thousand
I
contact.
The
social
Kitty
I
even
had
them
to
review,
investigating
everything,
and
they
still
saying
that
she
owes
the
thirteen
thousand
when
Devers,
fired
and
Howard
Solomon
were
the
ones
receiving
her
benefits
from
old
five,
and
they
said
this
took
place
in
o8
up
to
2010.
M
They
are
accusing
her
to
pay
the
13,000
back
and
in
2009
Deborah's
party
became
guardianship
of
moms
benefit
when
she
became
the
guardianship
of
my
mother.
She
since
then
received
my
mother's
benefits.
She
had
cut
the
payment
that
Howard
Solomon
had
paid
400.
She
had
cut
it
down
to
two
hundred
a
month.
M
From
then
on
in
2010,
mom
came
home
from
that
nursing
home
with
a
big
sword.
I
had
to
continue
taking
care
of
her
can't
treating
her
with
a
big
sword,
so
that's
a
monitor,
continuing
care
that
I
had
to
take
care
of
where
which
the
bed
saw
actually
closed,
but
it
took
about
after
she
came
home,
took
about
six
months
to
heal,
while
I
was
doing
it,
I
wasn't
receiving
enough
money
to
pay
for
the
dressings
and
bandage,
and
the
medical
supplies
that
I
needed
to
treat
the
sore.
M
So
all
right
try
to
ask
the
nurse.
There
was
a
nurse
that
kind
of
like
every
week
to
check
on
the
beats
were
to
make
sure
it
was
being
healing
correctly
and
I
was
complaining
to
her
that
I
might
get
enough
money
to
pay
for
these
things
and
could
was
it
anything
that
she
could
do
and
she
said
well
only
things
she
was
able
to
bring
was
not
even
enough
to
last.
For
no
more
than
two
days,
two
or
three
days
of
the
dressings
and
band-aids
and
stuff
that
I
needed
to
patch
my
mother
away.
M
She
wasn't
able
to
do
anything
even
though
I
had
contacted
that
perspires
and
let
her
know
that
I
need
more
money.
These
dressings
wanna
costing
me
25
or
$30
a
week.
Besides,
all
the
other
things
I
had
to
pay
in
2011
moms
from
other
furniture
was
thrown
out
from
being
from
from
baby
big
bucks.
I
own
contacted
Deborah's
fire
and
axe.
Could
I
use
some
of
her
money
that
she
had
in
the
bank
mom
had
about
eight
or
nine
thousand
dollars
in
the
bank
that
she
hadn't
used
and
cuz.
M
M
M
M
Social
Security
office:
no,
no,
okay,
let's
come
into
the
office,
define
so
that
they
can
find
out
why
my
mother
has
five
four
to
five
bangs,
which
I
was
not
aware
of,
so
she
went
over
the
bank.
She
showed
me
the
banks
right.
Are
you
familiar
with
all
any
of
these
banks
and
I
said
no
cuz
I
never
seen
him
and
to
Deborah's
fire
doesn't
disclose
any
information
to
me
about
my
mother's
financial.
Even
when
I
asked
her
about
it,
she
doesn't
disclose
anything
to
me.
M
M
Became
the
guardianship
no,
the
payee
for
about
one
month,
that's
crazy!
So
in
one
month
I
became
the
payee.
It
seemed
that
Deborah's
fire
must
have
been
complaining
about
it
and
lied
and
said
something
to
the
social
security
boy,
making
them
change
to
payee
old
back
over
to
her
from
me,
and
that's
when
the
that's,
when
Social
Security
had
decided
in
2012
launch
was
January
in
February
or
March
that
they
suspended
my
mother's
benefits
from
going
to
anyone.
So
they
suspended
the
benefit
in
2000.
M
M
In
2012,
the
rent,
the
in
my
mom's
income,
yet
I
went
into
spec
okay
in
2012,
I
got
in
an
eviction
notice
for
the
first
time
and
living
in
the
penguin
house.
For
about
21
years,
I
lived
there
and
I
received
an
eviction
notice
after
living
it
for
21
years,
because
Deborah
spire
refused
to
pay
my
mother's
portion
of
the
rent
and
there
was
money
in
the
bank,
but
she
refused
to
use
it
so
I
hate,
receiver
and
fiction
of
this.
A
M
2012
we
had
to
borrow
money
from
friends
for
food
and
personal
items,
I
think
in
that
year,
2012
I
think
that's.
When
everybody's
food
stamps
got
cut
off
cash
got
cut
off,
we
didn't
have
no
income,
so
we
couldn't
even
rely
on
any
food
stamps,
so
we
had
to
borrow
money
to
get
by
for
personal
needs
and
food
in
2012
I
even
bought
not
part
of
money,
but
in
order
to
keep
my
car
running,
I
had
a
friend
that
would
fix
my
car
and
he
trusted
me
to
pay
him.
M
You
have
depression
and
diabetes
to
where
my
stress
level
had
went
below
and
I
couldn't
handle
doing
anything.
I
think
I
had
to
go
to
the
hospital
or
something
cuz.
You
know
when
you
under
so
much
stress
and
depressed
depression
and
stuff
that,
because
there's
so
much
stuff
happening
you
just
can't
handle
it.
M
M
M
2016
the
rent
increased
at
the
apartment
in
New
Jersey,
because
I
had
started
working
with
her
income,
so
they
said
that
we
have
to
pay.
We
was
on
section
name,
so,
whatever
income
I
can't
I
get
date
based
on
name.
So
in
2016
my
rent
had
increased
up
to
415
I
wrote
a
letter
to
Deborah
spray,
letting
her
know
that
on
mine
has
additional
$200
to
pay
towards
the
rent.
Can
she
start
paying
that
towards
terrain
and
she
refuses
to
pay
the
additional
money
in
2016?
M
The
only
things
she
was
sent.
Him
was
that
$200,
so
Iowa
I
was
left
paying
everything
in
2016
I
had
to
pay
a
u-haul
additional
$200.
The
only
reason
I
had
to
pay
additional
$200.
That's
when
I
moved
back
to
Philly
I
moved
back
to
Philly
I
told
Deborah
there
needed
my
mother
should
pay
half
for
the
moving
cause
and
because
we
didn't
have
money,
so
we
scrap
trying
to
move
back
to
Philly
and
I
said
what
can't
you
help
give
her
I
need
at
least
$600
towards
the
moving
cars
so
doubles
firing.
M
This
is
crazy.
Deborah
spray
drag
Tuffy
when
I
have
a
moving
out
date
to
move
back
here
to
Philly
into
the
house.
She
says
she
would
pay
give
the
money
up
on.
It
was
like,
maybe
on
the
second
or
third.
She
took
additional
three
or
four
more
days.
To
give
me
the
money
I
couldn't
return
their
u-haul
back
to
the
to
the
rental
until
I
had
the
money
and
full
so
I
had
to
hold
on
to
the
you
home
until
I
was
able
to
pay
them
fully,
so
they
charged
me
additional
I.
M
Don't
know
it
was
about
$200
more
because
it
was
like
almost
it
was
349.
So
I'm
write
that
up
for
using
a
new
home,
then
we
in
2011
there's
something
I.
Just
left
out.
I
forgot
and
2011
month
lost
her
property
through
taxes
that
could
have
been
paid
and
pepper.
Spray
had
refused
I
haven
written
a
letter
in
telling
her
that
she
has
taxes
to
pay
my
property
and
they
never
bothered.
They
never
bothered
to
follow
up
on
it
and
to
someone
someone
came
and
would
it
initially
just
paid
for
that
board.
Turner.
M
M
Most
someone
wanted
$4,500
I
didn't
have
the
money
I
went
to
subsidise,
which
was
the
arm.
Salvation
Army
I
went
to
them
to
do
the
accounting
for
my
mother
and
she
worked
with
me
in
2013,
but
never
did
anything
because
Deborah
spar
I
kept
telling
her
they
was.
They
kept
convincing
her
like
to
do
to
County,
so
she
eventually
didn't
do
it
I.
A
M
A
I
want
to
ask
the
question
here
for
mr.
Brooks,
which
pertains
to
you
and
this
miss
Thomas
Thompson.
Your
story
is
compelling.
It's
it's
difficult.
It's
it's
not
good.
I
mean
it's.
It's
a
sad
situation,
I
and
I'll.
Let
you
finish
in
a
moment,
but
while
I
have
mr.
Brooks
here
he's
an
attorney,
not
this
age
of
your
attorney.
But
what
what
can
you
follow?
This
sad
story
along?
What
could
miss
Thompson
do
to
rid
herself
of
this?
Very
it
seems
to
be
very
bad.
N
First
off,
unfortunately,
mr.
Thompson's
story
is
something
that
we
hear
a
lot
yes
and
not
to
defend
misfire,
but
there's
a
there's,
a
dearth
of
professional
Guardians.
So
once
there's,
maybe
three
or
four
now
who
are
dealing
dozens
and
dozens
of
cases
of
people.
Just
like
your
mother
and
it's
it's
impossible,
I
mean
I-
think
it's
impossible
to
manage
that
amount
of
people's
lives.
We
would
help
her.
We
represent
individuals
in
these
cases.
Unfortunately,
the
courts
are
very
inclined
to
only
dealing
with
lawyers.
N
So
if
you
had
written
to
the
court
or
asked
the
court
for
help
most
likely,
that
would
have
gone
unanswered
unless
you
had
an
attorney
and
there's
just
not
a
lot
of
attorneys.
That
will
help
individuals
who
are
low
income
except
for
us,
okay,
I
am
we
do
and
we
do
routinely
represent
individuals
just
in
these
instances
where
people
are
being
evicted
because
rents
aren't
being
paid
so
I'm.
Sorry,
she
didn't
come
to
us,
but
this
is
certainly
the
type
of
case
that
we
would.
N
N
A
N
M
Stressful
situation,
okay,
the
part
right
now
is
my
mom:
don't
have
a
will
and
we
can't
get
a
will
unless
she
has
gone
in.
If
someone
else
has
accordion,
we
can't
obtain
a
will
and
I
have
a
policy,
and
you
know
like
policy
for
funeral
and
stuff,
but
I
was
able
to
get
the
policy
started
back
in
2018
yeah,
so
I've
been
paying
on
that
for
about
two
years
and
I
was
only
able
to
face
one
aunt
consistently
because
I
wasn't
able
to
hold
a
payment,
a
complete
full
job
to
pay
on
her
policy.
M
In
case
something
happens
because
she's
about
83
years
old,
she's
83,
and
it's
just
it's
like
talking
to
a
brick
wall
when
I'm
talking
to
her,
oh
and
I,
did
go
to
other
attorneys.
I
went
to
carry
I,
went
to
Philadelphia
legal
service,
community
legal
services,
LD
law,
I
went
to
a
lot
of
them
and
they
all
turned
me
down
flat.
M
N
N
A
A
N
N
N
The
court
is
very:
the
court
resolves
conflict
by
often
pointing
guardians
as
people
over
the
estate,
your
guardian,
I
suspect
of
the
person
and
then
there's
a
guardian
of
the
state
and
that's
just
not
tenable,
especially
with
loved
ones,
but
they
prefer
that,
rather
than
deal
with
mediation
or
deal
with
complex
familial
situations,
and
that's
one
of
the
things
that
needs
to
be
addressed,
and
so
we
would
be
more
than
willing
to
talk
to
mrs.
Thompson
about
this
and
to
her
unfortunate
she's,
not
alone,
and
we
speak
with
people
like
this
awesome
question.
M
B
M
She
has
schizophrenia,
and
that
came
think
that
she's
some
Wells,
so
when
she's
not
going
on
medication,
she
can
be.
You
know,
delusional
and
stuff
like
that,
so
she
was
not
incapacitated.
I
do
know
that,
because
I
have
I'd
be
I'm
with
her
24
hours,
even
when
I
was
working.
The
reason
why
I
moved
her
in
the
Sidney
Hill
apartments
right
there,
22nd
and
market
is
because
I
was
working
at
30
was
at
36
in
market
at
children
and
I
was
able
to
reach
her
every
day.
I
got
off
from
work,
whatever
she
needed.
M
I
was
right
there
right
so
now
why
I'm
working
they
over
here,
forcing
her
to
sign
documents
I,
can't
she
called
me
and
told
me,
but
I
couldn't
get
off
from
work.
I
can't
just
jump
in
when
they
say
they
doing
this.
They
doing
that
to
her.
It's
like
a
child
at
a
facility
and
need
doing
stuff
it.
You
know
a
mother
would've
went
off,
but
by
helping
a
senior
they
figured,
they
can
do
whatever
they
want
and
then,
when
I
call
PCI
to
ask
them
about
this,
they
said
everything
is
confidential.
C
A
M
F
Who
we
are,
my
name
is
crystal
tan
and
I'm
I
just
want
to
for
the
record
just
point
out
a
couple
of
general
cases
that
have
come
to
councilman
Jones's
office,
I'm
gonna
start
by
saying
last
year
the
councilman
came
in
this
building
on
a
Thursday
and
he
was
on
the
elevator
and,
as
he
often
does,
he
sees
people
on
you
don't
welcome
to
City
Hall
and
these
two
gentlemen,
who
were
brothers,
explain
to
the
councilman
that
they
were
here
about
their
mother.
Long
story
short.
This
guardianship
thing
once
is
signed
over
by
the
court.
F
They
seem
to
have
just
a
bit
too
much
power,
while
those
gentlemen
were
sitting
here
asking
for
help
to
find
out
what
this
guardian
had
written
them
to
do
with
their
mother.
They
literally
called
the
police
and
had
the
mother
removed
and
was
placed
and
felt
no
Philadelphia
nursing
home,
and
there
was
nothing
that
these
two
gentlemen
could
do
about
that,
because
the
court
had
given
a
guardian,
the
right
to
do
that.
I
petition
you
guys
to
look
into
that.
I
mean
I'm
scared
to
death.
I'm,
like
the
councilman
I.
M
F
Know
I
want
to
keep
my
kids
happy.
I,
don't
want
nobody
calling.
It
seems
like
when
you
call
the
helpline-
and
this
is
what
happened
in
this
case
two
years
prior
to
them
running
into
the
councilman,
their
sister
who
lives
in
North,
Carolina
called
our
office.
She
simply
said
to
me:
you
know:
can
you
share
the
Philadelphia
Corporation
of
Aging's
number
with
me
I?
Did
she
wouldn't
give
me
any
detail?
Two
years
later,
we
find
out
the
detail.
One
of
them
in
which
ironic
is
the
mother
lived
in
a
house
with
one
of
her
sons.
F
The
house
next
door
belonged
to
her
oldest
son,
so
that
family
was
there
together,
they
owned
adjoining
homes,
but
that
one
phone
call
mess
that
entire
family
up
The
Guardian
was
appointed.
There
wasn't
any
family.
Fine
is
what
I'm
thinking,
because
she
had
a
son
next
door
owned
his
own
construction
building
business
and
that
one
phone
call
is
Nancy
said
once
you
call
the
helpline
you're
cut
off,
you
don't
know,
what's
gonna
happen,
Jackie
clay,
who
is
on
the
list
to
testify
today
got
sick
this
morning.
F
Jackie
is
the
manager
of
one
of
our
senior
buildings
in
and
in
our
district,
and
she
emailed
me
her
statement.
I'm
not
gonna,
read
the
whole
statement,
but
the
just
of
the
statement
is
there
was
a
senior
in
her
building
who
was
appointed
a
guardian
once
he
got
the
guardianship.
He
came
to
her
and
said
to
her.
I
will
pay
her
rent,
but
I
need
you
to
go.
Do
her
errands
and
her
shopping
and
see
that
she
gets
to
the
doctor
she's
a
building
manager,
not
her
responsibility.
F
So
what
Jackie
told
us
happened
was
once
management
refused
to
assist
this
guardian
with
that
he
had
someone
come
and
tell
the
lady
she
was
going
to
the
doctor.
They've,
never
seen
the
senior
citizen
again
Wow,
okay,
I
can't
make
I
just
can't
and
I
mean
I
have
at
least
six
or
seven
cases
where
Guardians
have
been
appointed
and
there
are
family
members
that
care
about
their
mothers,
fathers,
uncles
and
aunts
and
I
just
think:
there's
not
enough
family,
fine.
No,
it's
real!
F
F
We
need
to
make
sure
that
half
in
our
courts,
because
too
many
of
the
families
are
saying
yeah,
here's
the
other
common
denominator,
I've
found
it
in
my
five
years
of
being
with
the
councilman
at
least
four
families
have
widowed
widowers,
who
have
six
digit
bank
accounts
that
Wanda
double
guardians
an
effect
but
the
family.
They
want
the
family
to
take
care
of
the
person
on
a
daily
basis,
but
the
courts
have
appointed
somebody
else
to
oversee
their
finances
and
that's
pretty
scary.
F
You
know
last
month,
family
came
to
us
because
they
won
3.2
million
dollars
in
a
lawsuit
concerning
their
sister,
who
was
in
a
nursing
home.
Everybody
in
the
family
agreed
that
they
wanted
a
guardian
over
the
sister,
because
all
of
the
siblings
were
in
their
80s.
But
these
are
sharp
girls.
They
came
down
here.
Well,
they
came
to
win
Phil.
Then
they
came
down
here.
M
F
When
the
Guardian
found
out
that
this
family
was
awarded
3.2
million
dollars,
he
then
created
a
three
page,
detailed
financial
report
saying
that
they
owed
him
like
ten
to
fifteen
thousand
dollars.
He
petitioned
the
court
two
days
after
Christmas.
The
family
was
made
aware
of
it
and
then
he
turned
around
and
and
took
they
took
the
petition
away,
but
yet
filed
another
one
on
January
4th,
which
meant
that
the
family
would
not
have
had
time
if
they
had
not
been
on
top
of
things,
he
would
have
gotten
to
her
money.
F
A
J
F
I'm
glad
she
brought
that
up,
it
does
seem
as
though
the
abuse
the
same
type
names
come
up.
I
think
you
asked
a
question
earlier:
councilman
Jones!
Oh,
where
was
the
other
lady
she's
in
Ireland
she
moved
to
Ireland
the
other
thing.
I,
don't
know.
If
you
guys
remember.
Last
year
a
woman
who
was
under
guardianship,
passed
away
was
buried
and
her
family
was
never
informed
and
to
her
son
or
grandson
went
to
the
nursing
home.
Looking
for
his
grandmother.