Housing for Older Adults: Reflections on Social Justice, Ethics and Choice
Join the Helen Bader Office of Applied Gerontology for a webinar titled, Housing for Older Adults: Reflections on Social Justice, Ethics and Choice.
Homelessness brings up a variety of ethical dilemmas. This workshop will address the dignity and worth of a person, self-determination, decision-making capacity, service, and integrity in relation to working with older adults experiencing homelessness and housing insecurity.
What are the objectives for participants?
- To increase their understanding of housing insecurity and homelessness among older adults.
- To increase their understanding of the legal mechanisms to address housing insecurity and homelessness.
- To explore housing and social justice.
- To explore ethical dilemmas that occur between protecting an older adult from harm and respecting individual freedoms.
- To explore how to maintain professional competence when faced with an ethical dilemma related to housing. Ethical decision-making tools and codes of conduct will be examined.
- To learn best practices to promote self-determination in relation to housing choices.
- To explore community responses to housing and homelessness
Program Presenters
Colleen Foley
Colleen Foley is the executive director of the Legal Aid Society of Milwaukee, one of the nation’s oldest public interest law firms. For more than a century, Legal Aid’s mission has been to ensure equal access to representation to build a more just Milwaukee.
Legal Aid launched Eviction Free MKE in September 2021, originally contemplated as a three-year pilot, and now in its fifth year. Legal Aid received the United Way of Greater Milwaukee and Waukesha County Gwen T. Jackson Community Service award in 2021 and the Milwaukee Bar Association’s Pro Bono Publico Organization award in 2022 for its Eviction Free MKE work.
Dinah LaCaze, MBA, APSW
Dinah LaCaze is the prevention program coordinator (Chapter 55) for Milwaukee County Department of Health and Human Services, Aging and Disabilities, Adult Protective Services (APS). She coordinates emergency protective placements for adults at risk and older adults to ensure safety, stability, and timely access to services.
In addition to overseeing emergency protective placements, Dinah provides education and training to APS staff and community partners on topics including dementia, abuse in later life, challenging behaviors, and other issues that support effective APS practice and prevention efforts. She serves as a commissioner for domestic violence and sexual assault with the Office of Community Health and Wellness.
Sam Leichtling
Sam Leichtling is the deputy commissioner for the City of Milwaukee’s Department of City Development. Sam has worked for the City of Milwaukee since 2008 and has held leadership roles in DCD’s Housing and Planning Divisions including formerly serving as city planning director.
He holds master’s degrees in urban planning and public administration from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and a bachelor’s degree from Carleton College. Sam is a member of the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP) and a certified Housing Development Finance Professional (HDFP).
Colleen Galambos, PhD, LCSW, ACSW, FGSA, FAASWSW
Dr. Galambos is a fellow of the Gerontological Society of America, a fellow of the American Academy of Social Work and Social Welfare, and a National Association of Social Workers Pioneer. Her practice experience includes clinical, administrative, policy, and research positions in a variety of health and long-term care organizations. Past appointments include the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’s Committee on the Health and Medical Dimensions of Social Isolation and Loneliness in Older Adults and Committee on the Quality of Care in Nursing Homes, and the 2020 National Academy of Medicine’s (NAM) Vital Directions for Health and Healthcare project.
In 2024, Dr. Galambos co-chaired the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine’s symposium on Essential Health Care Services Related to Anxiety and Mood Disorders in Women. She serves on the Health Care Services Board of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and Milwaukee County’s ADRC Board. In 2023, Dr. Galambos received the Leadership Award from AGE-SW, a national organization that promotes gerontology education in social work programs. Dr. Galambos was selected as one of the Milwaukee Business Journal’s 2020 Women of Influence for her mentorship of students preparing for careers in gerontology. In 2024, she was selected as an inaugural Bader Leadership Institute Fellow. She has received the prestigious recognition of Stanford University’s top two percent of most impactful scientists in the fields of social work, nursing, public health, and social sciences.
Register for WEAAD Webinar
2026 World Elder Abuse Awareness Day Webinar
Tuesday, June 9, 2025
9-11:30 a.m.
Free and open to the public.
This is a World Elder Abuse Awareness Day event.
Continuing Education Hours
This workshop is meant to meet the Wisconsin state requirements for Licensed Social Workers.
2.5 Ethics Continuing Education Hours are available for participants who attend the whole program and request a CEH certificate.
The certificates are free and fulfill the requirements for Social Work Ethics CEHs in Wisconsin.
Sponsors
Bader Philanthropies, Helen Bader School of Social Welfare Office of Applied Gerontology, Legal Aid Society of Milwaukee, and the Milwaukee County Aging and Disabilities Services.