There are currently 22.4 million veterans in the United States, a figure which represents 10% of the nation’s adult population. While having courageously served their country, thousands of veterans are now living in poverty, facing homelessness, and in desperate need of help. The economic crisis has had a disproportionate effect on veterans, especially those who have recently returned home and those who have been homeless for years. Studies have shown that veterans, particularly those suffering from the effects of combat, face higher levels of unemployment, incarceration and homelessness than the population at large.
The problems facing veterans are often complex andrequire legal assistance to help navigate the maze of services necessary so that they can improve their lives. For veterans and their families, legal representation can mean the difference between homelessness and shelter; foreclosure or security; conflict or family reconciliation; poverty or benefits and a living wage. Indeed, in some dire circumstances, access to legal services can even be the difference between life and death.
Simply put, many of the challenges faced by veterans require lawyers to resolve but –without the benefit of legal services – veterans will not have access to helpful advocates.
Equal Justice Works engages lawyers and law students as AmeriCorps members. Created in 1993, Equal Justice Works AmeriCorps provides legal services to 40,000 people each year. AmeriCorps Legal Fellows create pro bono opportunities, prevent foreclosures, eliminate legal barriers to housing, and protect victims of abuse, eviction, wrongful termination, and a myriad of other issues.
In 2010, Equal Justice Works createdAmeriCorps Legal Fellowships specifically to address the needs of veterans. These Fellows provide services for veterans and their families that include direct representation and community education programs while also recruiting pro bono volunteers to increase the much-needed legal services for our veterans. These Fellows are located in San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego, Seattle, Jacksonville and the District of Columbia. Two Fellows also serve throughout the state of West Virginia.
In the past six months, Equal Justice Works AmeriCorps Fellows served 727 veterans with securing benefits or home foreclosure assistance. They helped twelve homeless vets secure permanent housing. Since the beginning of the program, Equal Justice Works AmeriCorps Fellows have helped hundreds of homeless veterans to secure income, benefits and supportive housing. From DC to California, the Fellows are having an impact.
AmeriCorps Fellows, staff and volunteers at Public Counsel in Los Angeles, California, have helped homeless veterans secure $1.1 million in VA benefits to which they were entitled and helped hundreds of veterans escape homelessness. As AmeriCorps Fellows at Public Counsel, Stacy Zimmerman and Nancy Wheeler demonstratetheir commitment to helping veterans access the income supports and legal help they need. For example, Stacy met “David,” a formerly homeless Marine Corps veteran who served in the Vietnam War. He contacted Public Counsel for help after his service-related disabilities became so severe that he could no longer work. Stacy worked on David’s behalf to advocate for the highest level of VA compensation due to David’s total disability. Through Stacy’s work, David was awarded over $2,700 per month in compensation, as well as approximately $50,000 in retroactive benefits. Thanks to Stacy’s efforts, David now has the means to care for himself and avoid homelessness for the rest of his life.
Lauren Peach serves as an AmeriCorps Legal Fellow with the Veterans Project at the Northwest Justice Project in Seattle, Washington. Lauren helps at-risk and homeless veterans to remove barriers to housing, employment and self-sufficiency. In six months, Lauren has helped five homeless veterans secure permanent housing.
As AmeriCorps Legal Fellows at Legal Aid of West Virginia, Jordan Ballard and Patrick Brooks are establishing a statewide legal program to serve veterans. In six months, Jordan has already helped two homeless veterans secure permanent housing. Patrick has established community partnerships with veteran service organizations. He has coordinated with the staff of the Louis A. Johnson VA Medical Center (VAMC) to run a legal clinic in the state veterans’ nursing home. Jordan and Patrick have helped 95 veterans with their legal needs in the first months of this initiative.
Other host sites for this pilot program include:
County of San Diego, Office of the Primary Public Defender and the Thomas Jefferson School of Law, San Diego, CA. Ed Neusteter works to develop a Veterans Treatment Court and enhance the quality of legal representation of military and veteran clients by advising and supplementing criminal justice attorneys.
The Legal Aid Society of the District of Columbia, Washington, DC.Jennifer Yi Man Cheung provides direct legal assistance to veterans referred by the Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless (WLCH) and the Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing program (VASH).
Inner City Law Center, Los Angeles, CA. EllyKuglerserves veterans who suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder induced by military sexual trauma, which is sexual assault or harassment that occurs in military settings.
Equal Justice Works is proposing to bring this pilot project to scale with a new legal Fellowship program. The Fellows will take a holistic approach to assisting veterans and their families by helping to stabilize their living situations, securing VA and government benefits, Supplemental Security Income, medical benefits and providing legal representation to overcome the barriers they face in securing employment, housing, medical care and support services. The Fellows will assist with mobilizing and training volunteers in Veterans Affairs adjudication and representation, with the goal of providing services to veterans, including veterans with disabilities, veterans who are unemployed, older veterans, and veterans in rural communities.
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