Veterans
Protecting the legal rights of veterans and their families
Legal Aid for Veterans
Every year, tens of thousands of veterans face civil legal issues — ranging from benefits claims and housing to family law and consumer matters — that threaten their stability. Civil legal aid helps veterans and their families achieve the security and dignity they deserve.
Serving Those Who Served
Low-income veterans are more likely to experience civil legal problems like:
- Eviction and homelessness
- Discharge status issues, affecting their eligibility for healthcare, employment and housing
- Denials of VA benefits
Navy Vet Resolves VA Debt
A senior Navy veteran and his wife faced possible homelessness when the VA threatened to garnish his wages to recover what they claimed was an overpayment of benefits. An ¿ìèÊÓƵ-funded medical-legal partnership discovered the overpayment was due to an error and cleared the debt, giving them peace of mind.
Veterans Face a Critical Justice Gap
Legal needs regularly rank among the top unmet needs of vulnerable veterans in annual VA surveys.
1.6 million
Low-income veterans qualify for civil legal assistance.
88%
Of civil legal problems faced by low-income veterans receive inadequate or no professional legal help.
Legal Resources for Veterans
¿ìèÊÓƵ’s Veterans Legal Clinic Toolkit is a ready-to-use model community organizations can deploy to meet the needs of local veterans.
¿ìèÊÓƵ’s Commitment to Veterans
In 2020, ¿ìèÊÓƵ created the Veterans Task Force to examine the reasons underlying the gap between veterans’ legal needs and the services available to meet those needs. Its final report identifies solutions, while emphasizing that veterans should not have to fight for basic services when they return home.