Blind NJ Woman Left in Limbo by Cracks in Social Services

Leila Laufer is a legally blind but otherwise healthy 77-year-old who has just learned she falls between the cracks of different government programs that offer help to the disabled and the elderly.

She was recently declared too old to remain in a government program for working-age people with disabilities, but she isn’t needy enough or frail enough to qualify for many state and county programs that help pay for home aides for the elderly .

So at the moment, she is without the twice-a-week aide who used to help with essential tasks such as grocery shopping, cleaning her home in Fair Lawn or even reading the official letters denying her services. And she doesn’t know how she’ll fare without that help.

“They describe this as if I have maxed out on the services, like I’m a credit card instead of a human being,” Laufer said. “I am afraid of what’s going to happen.”

Advocates say her situation isn’t uncommon among the elderly and visually impaired when they become too old for one government system and may or may not be eligible for another — which doesn’t always meet their needs.

“The big push is to have our seniors live at home as long as possible, but then we don’t always give them the support they need to do so,” said Joseph Ruffalo, president of the National Federation of the Blind of New Jersey.

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Blind Fair Lawn Senior Left in Limbo by Cracks in Social Services