Report from governmental affairs. At their service

• Author: Eric Storey
• Pages: 67-68

67

ABA JOURNAL | SEPTEMBER–OCTOBER 2019

ABA Insider | REPORT FROM GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS

REPORT FROM

GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS

At Their

Service

ABA advocacy builds momentum

for bipartisan legislation aiding

homeless veterans

BY ERIC STOREY

Recent legislative developments

in the nation’s campaign to

end veteran homelessness is

attributable in part to the

persistent efforts of ABA members

working in conjunction with the ABA’s

Governmental Affairs Ofce. This was

accomplished by showing lawmakers

that the inability of low-income veter-

ans to access free legal assistance only

perpetuates the underlying problems

that lead to homelessness.

Ending veteran homelessness

became a national priority in 2010,

and concerted efforts even managed

to reduce homelessness by 50% from

2010 levels. Progress stalled, however,

and veteran homelessness remains a

persistent problem, with over 1.22

million veterans living in poverty and

approximately 38,000 homeless on any

given night, according to the Depart-

ment of Veterans Affairs.

Fortunately, this may soon change,

now that an increasing number of

congressional leaders realize that for

the many veterans with unresolved legal

problems, access to a lawyer can mean

the difference between living under a

roof or under a bridge.

The reason is simple: Lega l problems

as basic as the loss of a driver’s license

or overdue civil nes often di squalify

veterans from part icipating in govern-

ment and private-sector prog rams that

provide housing, employment, benet s,

treatment and serv ices. Without legal

assistance to resolve the se problems,

many low-income veterans are at a n

increased risk of

becoming homeless ,

and those already

living on the stree t

are likely to re-

main there. Th is is

highlighted by t he

VA’s own annual

assessment, which

repeatedly nds th at half of the top 10

needs facing homeless vetera ns require

legal assistanc e to be resolved.

At present, the VA does not have au-

thority to direc tly fund legal services.

While the VA provides indire ct assis-

tance, our count ry has relied on pro

bono attorneys, legal a id lawyers and

others to provide needed legal as sis-

tance. Despite thos e herculean efforts,

thousands of veterans do not rec eive

the aid that they need to ge t their lives

back on track.

To help address this problem,

interested stakeholders have par tnered

with the ABA and ot her legal groups

to explore additional ways to expand

access to legal ser vices, and recent

According to

the Department

of Veterans

Aairs, there are

approximately

38,000

homeless

veterans on any

given night.

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