DATE: Friday, November 28, 1997             TAG: 9711280053

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY REBECCA MYERS CUTCHINS, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: PORTSMOUTH                        LENGTH:  163 lines

FOR VICTIMS OF CONSUMER SCHEMES, THERE IS HELP SERVICE HELPS SENIORS WITH BILLS, SHOPPING

His small Cradock home resembles a cluttered mail-order catalog warehouse.

Books on every subject imaginable fill a bookcase along one wall.

``I haven't read half of those at all,'' the 75-year-old said.

Then, a confession: ``In fact, I haven't read any of them. They're books I ordered.''

A set of plastic train tracks are heaped on an end table; railroad cars are strewn about the untidy living room.

``When I was a youngster, my father didn't have the money to buy me a train set,'' the elderly man said. ``And I was always looking through catalogs.''

A retired shipyard worker, he points to some of the more ``useful'' merchandise he has ordered over the years, like the clock hanging from a clothesline strung up in the middle of his living room.

But most of the mail-order goods, he admits, are useless.

``I was going to try and put this up somewhere for clothes, but I never got to it,'' he said, clutching a small wooden rack still in its box.

Then there's the battery-powered fluorescent light.

``I was going to use that, too, but I never got to it.''

The Portsmouth man said his buying habit grew out of boredom.

It also grew out of control.

That's when Jewish Family Service stepped in.

Ron, which is not his real name, agreed to tell his story to help senior citizens like himself from being exploited.

Jewish Family Service asked that his name not be published to protect him from potential scam artists.

Ron is typical of elderly residents the agency helps.

He was drowning in a sea of mail-order debt.

He learned about Jewish Family Service's Personal Affairs Management program as a regular patron of the agency's nutritious lunch program.

``My bills kept getting larger and larger, and they came along and helped straighten my bills out,'' he said.

Because Ron lives alone and has no close relatives in the area, he gave the agency his power of attorney and had his mailing address changed so that all of his mail would be delivered to a post-office box held by the agency.

``Everything comes to us so we can pull the bills out and screen them to see that our clients aren't being scammed,'' said Dorothy Salomonsky, program coordinator.

Though he does not order as often as he used to, he still receives huge stacks of mail daily - so that the agency had to assign a separate post-office box just for him.

``You wouldn't believe the volume of this kind of stuff once you get on a mailing list,'' Salomonsky said.

About every other day, he drives to Jewish Family Service in Norfolk's Wards Corner to meet with his volunteer bill-payer to go through his mail and discuss any questionable bills.

The Personal Affairs Management program got its start two years ago as a simple bill-paying service for the elderly and adults susceptible to exploitation, such as those with mental illness. The program started with partial funding by Bell Atlantic.

Later, with additional funding from the United Way, the program was expanded to include services ranging from bill-paying and shopping to power of attorney and guardianship.

Then, this summer, the Portsmouth General Hospital Foundation awarded the agency a $41,200 grant so the program could serve more Portsmouth residents. Program administrators eventually hope to open a Portsmouth satellite office in space provided by a church or community center.

With the foundation's funding, 13 Portsmouth residents are being served, with four guardianships pending in court. The Portsmouth grant provides enough funding to help as many as 25 of the city's residents.

``The program is open to all residents of South Hampton Roads, but as it happens, Portsmouth citizens are now getting priority because of the funding'' provided by Portsmouth General Hospital Foundation, Salomonsky said. ``We're hoping that foundations in other cities will follow suit because, currently, we have to put people on waiting lists because of a lack of funding.''

Clients often are referred to the program through Adult Protective Services, Social Services, attorneys, nursing homes and churches.

Most clients ``have either no family or family that's inappropriate, disinterested or just unable to be the person's guardian,'' Salomonsky said.

Each client is assigned a case manager as well as a volunteer to look after his or her affairs.

``A lot of people have three or four volunteers working with them,'' Salomonsky said. ``That's the policy - that we assign a volunteer to every client to monitor, to visit, to pay bills, whatever the function may be.''

A few weeks ago, the agency became the guardian for a woman who had ``stacks and stacks of debts,'' Salomonsky said.

Another client was sold furniture on credit. When she couldn't pay the bill, creditors began garnishing her bank account. It wasn't long before her savings were depleted.

Two Portsmouth clients were scammed by the same home-repair company, which now is under investigation. Another was sold two home security systems and a set of $2,000 encyclopedias she didn't need. One man paid thousands of dollars to have the trim on his house painted.

``Statistically, there isn't that much slamming grandma against the wall,'' Salomonsky said. ``There's more taking her money and impacting on her life.

``If you don't have any money, you can't buy food, you can't pay your rent or electricity, you can't buy warm clothes or your medicine, and this is what impacts your health more than if somebody slams you against the wall.''

Salomonsky describes some of her clients as nearly ``falling off the edge of the earth.''

``They let their lives fall into such disrepair that they can't pull out of it,'' she said. ``Or they don't know how.''

Ron knows how they feel.

``I still order some things,'' he concedes, ``but before I order, I let (Jewish Family Service) know.

``As a matter of fact, I got a package from Dorothy Salomonsky, and she asked, `Do you really need this book?'

``I know I want the book because it's a medical book,'' he said.

``That, I want.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color Photo

HUY NGUYEN/The Virginian-Pilot

Dorothy Salomonsky of Jewish Family Service watches out for clients

like ``Sam,'' who has been a victim of several mail-order scams.

Graphic

COST

FULL FEES

ARE BASED

ON A

CLIENT'S

ABILITY TO

PAY. CALL

489-3111.

FOR MORE

INFORMATION.

MORE

DETAILS,

PAGE B6

Graphic

ABOUT THE PROGRAM

Jewish Family Service's Personal Affairs Management program, open

to people of all faiths, offers six services as a safeguard against

the mismanagement of funds:

Simple bill paying - reading and sorting a client's mail,

preparing monthly budgets and writing checks for clients to sign.

Power of attorney - the legal authority to handle the affairs of

a client and sign checks, forms and contracts.

Durable power of attorney - preparing for future infirmity by

helping a client plan those decisions that need to be made about

health care, financial management and ethical issues.

Representative payee - receipt and disbursement of Social

Security funds.

Guardianship - in the absence of appropriate family or friends,

the agency is appointed by the court as guardian to protect the

client and his or her property.

Personal care shopping - On a regular basis, a volunteer will

determine a client's needs for essentials such as food, clothing and

medicine, and make the necessary purchases.

Fees are based on a client's ability to pay. Full fees range from

$25 a month for simple bill-paying services to a $125 one-time fee

for durable power of attorney, plus $50 quarterly fee for case

management.

Program volunteers undergo criminal background checks, must

provide references and must be free of communicable diseases, such

as tuberculosis.

For more information about Jewish Family Service's Personal

Affairs Management program, call Dorothy Salomonsky at 489-3111, or

(800) 828-1120 for the hearing impaired, to arrange for a first-time

consultation.

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