Legal hotline for D.C. seniors at capacity as proposed attorney funding eliminated, LCE warns

Rhonda Cunningham Holmes, executive director of Legal Counsel for the Elderly (LCE), told the Committee on Executive Administration and Labor on June 11 that the LCE hotline is at capacity and that the proposed FY26 DACL/EACL budget removes $110,000 that the council added in FY25 to support an additional attorney.

Why it matters: LCE’s hotline provides legal advice and representation for district residents age 60 and over on housing, benefits, fraud and other issues. Holmes said the hotline served as a critical “gateway to justice” and gave examples: a 64‑year‑old woman whose traffic case was dismissed after hotline assistance and a 71‑year‑old retired teacher who discharged $140,000 in student loan debt with LCE help.

Testimony and figures: Holmes said hotline intake specialists handled more than 4,600 calls in FY24 and hotline attorneys resolved approximately 3,400 cases that year. She said the council allocated $110,000 last year to add an attorney; the proposed FY26 EACL budget eliminates that $110,000 and the mayor’s budget proposal includes steep cuts to broader access to justice funding, testimony said. Holmes warned the reduction would leave seniors with fewer options and pressed the committee to restore the $110,000, saying LCE’s call‑back policy (attempt to call back clients within two days to schedule attorney appointments) is constrained when slots are full.

Holmes requested restoration of the targeted funding and noted that as other legal services providers contract (testimony cited proposed “access to justice” reductions in the mayor’s plan), demand on LCE would grow.

Ending: LCE offered to follow up with additional data and asked the committee to prioritize restoration of the attorney line in the FY26 budget.