PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NOVEMBER 8, 2012
LEGAL AID SOCIETY AWARDED FUNDING
TO EXPAND VETERANS WORK
LOUISVILLE, KY—Emerging from a highly competitive, national application process, the Legal Aid Society has been awarded funding from AmeriCorps for an Equal Justice Works AmeriCorps Legal Fellowthat will allow the organization to expand its work with veterans. Legal Aid has hired attorney Roy Denny to fill the position.
Denny willprovide free guidance and representation on civil legal issues to veterans who meet federal poverty guidelines and are accepted into the Jefferson County Veterans Treatment Court (VTC).
The first of its kind in Kentucky, the Jefferson County VTC will hold a regular docket specifically for veterans who suffer from substance abuse or mental health issues and are charged with misdemeanors or non-violent felonies. Qualified veterans may elect to have their criminal case heard in VTC rather than a traditional criminal court.
The VTC substitutes a treatment problem-solving model for a traditional court procedure, much like traditional drug courts have successfully in the past. The program is a collaborative effort of judges, prosecutors, defense attorneys, therapists, social workers, and peer mentors to intervene and steer a veteran toward treatment rather than incarceration. Veterans voluntarily participate in the program and usually plead guilty to sentences that are diverted or dismissed if they successfully complete their prescribed case management program, which can include mental health and substance abuse counseling, random drug testing, and other criteria intended to rehabilitate.
Legal Aid anticipates it will provide legal assistance to 125 veterans in the VTC as a result of the AmeriCorps funding. Legal Aid will help veterans resolve legal issues that are barriers to employment, accessing health care, or maintaining housing.
“The Jefferson County VTC was created to address the unique needs of veterans who enter the criminal justice system, most for the first time and with no problems before going to war,” said Jeffrey A. Been, Executive Director at the Legal Aid Society. “Funding from AmeriCorps enables Legal Aid to support veterans who have given so much to our country. We are grateful to have been chosen to perform this work.”
In addition to his work with the VTC, Denny will also manage Legal Aid’s Kentucky Corps of Advocates for Veterans (KCAV) program by providing directlegal services to veterans who contact Legal Aid through our traditional intake process.
Denny received his undergraduate degree in Administration of Justice from the University of Louisville and is a 2012 graduate of the Brandeis School of Law. He is a licensed member of the Kentucky Bar Association, the US District Court for the Western District of Kentucky, and the US Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Kentucky.
The mission of the Legal Aid Society is to pursue justice for people in poverty. Legal Aid provides free legal services to low-income families and individuals facing serious threats to their physical and economic well-being. Those assisted include the elderly, children, victims of domestic violence, and other vulnerable groups. To learn more visit,
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