2025 In Review

In 2025, APILO’s Elder and Disability Rights Project ensured that elders and individuals with disabilities can live with dignity, stability, and freedom from abuse. These success stories reflect our community-centered approach—providing legal support that protects public benefits, secures immigration status, prevents displacement, and addresses abuse. Each outcome represents not just a legal victory, but a step toward safety, independence, and long-term well-being.

Despite ongoing challenges in the legal and funding landscape, our team strengthened its impact through partnerships with government agencies and organizations serving the elderly community. These stories celebrate the resilience of our clients and the collective effort required to prevent abuse, support survivors, and uphold justice.

Advocating for Justice: SSI Benefits Reinstated After Wrongful Overpayment Claim

A young adult with schizophrenia depends entirely on SSI. He received a letter stating he had been overpaid and his benefits would be terminated. We determined that Social Security wrongfully claimed the overpayment. Instead of giving him the required time to spend down retroactive benefits, they counted it as extra income.

We appealed and advocated at his hearing. He was granted a fully favorable decision—his overpayment was waived and his entire SSI benefit was reinstated.

Advocating for Fairness: YAD Client’s Benefits Restored in Full

A young adult with a disability came to us after Social Security discontinued her SSI, wrongly counting her husband’s income even though they had separated. We provided evidence that although they aren’t divorced, they are separated and live separate lives—different homes, separate accounts, no communication. We also filed forms with the VA and Social Security proving she no longer receives VA spousal benefits.

The officer gave us a favorable decision and fully reinstated her SSI benefits.

Restoring Essential Support: Overturned SSI Termination for Elderly Client

An elderly client’s SSI benefits were discontinued after Social Security determined her resources exceeded the $3,000 limit for a couple. She had bought a Below Market Rate house in 2016 and sold it a few years later. She provided receipts showing all the money was spent—paying back the government for the house, covering loans and medical expenses.

Social Security policy requires recipients who sell a home for less than fair market value or who keep the proceeds to be penalized by a period of ineligibility of up to 36 months. Since her resources were spent down by September 2022, we appealed. At the hearing, we showed the receipts and argued that her 36 months had passed and she was below the resource limit. The officer agreed and reinstated her SSI benefits.

Overcoming Barriers: Client Achieves Naturalization Through Hard Work and Courage

An elderly client came to us for help with her naturalization. She came to the U.S. in 2005 from the Philippines with a B1 visa and obtained her green card in 2018 based on a T-visa. Tagalog is her first language, and she struggles with severe anxiety that causes mental blocks in moments of stress.

She worked tirelessly to study for her naturalization interview and passed with great success. Congratulations on a well-earned achievement.

Overcoming Barriers: A Cambodian Immigrant’s Inspiring Path to Citizenship

Ms. S.L., a 45-year-old San Francisco–based Cambodian immigrant, passed her naturalization interview in October 2025. When she received her naturalization certificate at the oath ceremony, she beamed with pride and exclaimed, “I did it! I did it!”

She was referred to us by the SFPCI Citizenship Workshop. She studied diligently, memorizing the answers to all 100 civics questions and attending online civics classes. We administered multiple mock tests to support her, as retaining the answers was difficult. This was her third attempt at the naturalization interview and civics test, following two unsuccessful attempts a decade earlier.

Born in a refugee camp in Thailand, Ms. S.L. arrived in the United States as an infant with her Cambodian refugee parents. Refugees often face significant barriers, including language obstacles, cultural adjustment, and mental health challenges. Congratulations on becoming a citizen of the United States.

Protecting a Vulnerable Elder: Securing Safety Through a Restraining Order

A monolingual elder came to us seeking protection from her neighbors. She, her husband, and her son had been threatened by the male neighbor. She had previously been physically assaulted by the female neighbor and developed severe anxiety from these incidents.

We helped her file an Elder Abuse Restraining Order and were granted a Temporary Restraining Order. At the hearing, the court ordered that the parties remain five yards away from each other despite the shared living space.

Advocating for Safety: Protecting a Vulnerable Person with Disability from Abuse

We first met this client through a referral from Adult Protective Services. She had endured abuse from a neighbor who took advantage of her cognitive impairment. From the beginning, we focused on building trust, creating a space where she felt heard, believed, and supported. As we worked on safety planning, gathered information, and prepared for court, her confidence slowly began to return.

The court hearing became a turning point. With our team by her side, the judge granted a restraining order that put legal protection in place. In the weeks that followed, the impact was clear. She began to feel safe in her own home again. She reconnected with familiar routines, engaged more comfortably with her community, and showed a renewed sense of stability and calm. Her resilience, paired with our steady advocacy, transformed a frightening situation into a story of safety reclaimed and dignity restored.

This case is a reminder that no one should face abuse alone. If you or someone you know is experiencing harm, reaching out for support can be the first step toward safety and healing.

About APILO’s Elder and Disability Rights Project

APILO’s Elder and Disability Rights Project provides legal services that help elders and individuals with disabilities receive public benefits and live free from abuse. We work to prevent abuse and assist survivors. We partner closely with senior centers, churches, and senior meal sites to keep our services accessible. Our team provides naturalization assistance, immigration cases, elder abuse protection, estate planning, eviction defense, conservatorship, guardianship, and restraining orders.

Want to learn more about what our team does? Reach out to us.

Stand With Our Elders and People with Disabilities: Your Support Makes Justice Accessible

Your support protects our most vulnerable community members. At APILO’s Elder and Disability Rights Project, we fight every day to ensure elders and people with disabilities can live with dignity, free from abuse and discrimination. Our legal team provides vital services—from defending against evictions to securing restraining orders, from helping with immigration cases to protecting against elder abuse.

When you donate to APILO, you’re not just giving money. You’re helping an elderly immigrant stay in their home, a disabled individual access their benefits, or a senior find safety from abuse. We work directly in the community through senior centers, churches, and meal sites, making our services accessible to those who need it most.

Every contribution, no matter the size, helps us continue providing free legal services to elders and people with disabilities in our community.

Will you join us in protecting those who need it most?

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