For the past seven years, Gerri Dolan has guided seniors through legal issues, sitting across the table from McHenry County residents as they face the stark reality of foreclosure.

She still remembers her first foreclosure as a lawyer with Prairie State Legal Services, a nonprofit that provides free legal advice for those with low incomes or who are over age 60.

“It was just upsetting to think that people who owned a home for 20, 25 years were losing it and did lose it,” Dolan said. “If you can think about how hard it might be for you to move at your age, think about someone who has been in a home for 20 or 25 years, is 70 years old and has to think about packing up and moving.