Long Term Care Ombudsman Project

Become a Long Term Care Ombudsman and help nursing home residents.

Ombudsmen advocate with, or on behalf of, elders in nursing homes who are often a forgotten part of society.

Volunteer Ombudsmen visit nursing homes regularly in order to investigate and resolve complaints from residents.  When a resident has a concern and gives the Ombudsman permission, the Ombudsman can work with the resident, facility staff and outside agencies in order to improve the resident’s quality of care and life.  Ombudsmen can also help on a systemic level when multiple residents of a facility are facing a problem.  Ombudsmen educate residents, family, staff and the community about residents’ rights. 

The Ombudsman Project with the Legal Assistance Foundation of Metropolitan Chicago provides the training required.  This volunteer opportunity has very flexible hours.  Our service area includes suburban Cook County (except for the City of Evanston) and all of Lake County. 

We are looking for volunteers who;

• are at least 18 years old
• are willing to give a good-faith two year commitment,  
• will submit to a criminal background check,
• are able to travel to facilities and training opportunities and
• participate in six hours of training throughout the year.

Long Term Care Ombudsman must be able to develop cooperative and trusting relationships with residents and facility staff.  If you are interested in volunteering with our program and would like more information, please call the Legal Assistance Foundation of Metropolitan Chicago at 888-401-8200 and ask to speak to the Volunteer Coordinator or This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .