Sheila Gholkar

2014-2015

Sheila Gholkar graduated from the University of Arizona College of Law in May 2013. She has been at Greater Boston Legal Services for the past year representing elders facing eviction from public housing, as well as seniors applying for disability and other public benefits. While in law school, Sheila worked on a range of issues impacting low-income communities, including assisting undocumented victims of domestic violence in obtaining immigration relief at the East Bay Community Law Center, assisting on wage and hour class action suits with United Farm Workers, and representing children in abuse and neglect cases in juvenile court. She also served as a summer law clerk for 9th Circuit Judge Mary Murguia and with the Tucson Immigration Court.

As a 2014-2015 Borchard Fellow, Sheila will continue at Greater Boston Legal Services and work specifically on elder abuse issues. She will represent elders in financial exploitation, MassHealth, and eviction cases. She will also help lead the Elder Abuse Prevention Project of GBLS. This will involve leading community outreach events throughout the state to increase awareness of both the scope and complexity of elder abuse, as well as developing local networks that can better prevent and respond to abuse in the community. Finally, Sheila will be writing an article about the impact of financial exploitation on an elder's ability to obtain MassHealth long-term care benefits.

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