Ernest E. Shaver, Esq., Founder & Director, The Caritas Project

Throughout my twenty-five years in private practice, I have dealt with many low-income, elderly clients. Some of the most fulfilling and rewarding things I have done professionally were to help these people, often by performing rather simple and straightforward services which sometimes had a profound impact on their lives. Many times I was unable to perform those services because potential clients simply could not afford my fees. I was troubled by fact that the economic realities of private practice did not allow me to help people in obvious need. That discomfort has been compounded by personal experience. As I look back at my own family’s dealings with elder law issues, and when I compare our relatively substantial resources with those of the many less fortunate people I have encountered, I simply cannot imagine how someone living solely on Social Security or a minimal pension would cope with those same problems. And yet they do. Often.

When I was presented with the opportunity to found and direct the Caritas Project, several threads of my life came together, and I was glad to accept the challenge. My practice has been diverse, and at various times has focused on bankruptcy, family law, general civil litigation and administrative law. In dealing with my own family’s issues, I have learned a great deal about probate, powers of attorney, and some specific issues relating to Alzheimer’s disease. I am therefore well-equipped professionally to direct an organization addressing the legal needs of the low-income elderly.