On Monday, March 7, 2022, VOLS Legal Director Peter Kempner testified at an oversight hearing held by the New York City Council Committee on Veterans. Our testimony highlighted New York City’s graying veteran population and the need to provide them with targeted legal services. This year the youngest Vietnam War era veterans will turn 65 and overall, the New York City veteran population is older than in the rest of the country. The VOLS Veterans Initiative of our Senior Law Project is working to ensure that low income older veterans in New York City are able to receive free legal services to put the right plan in place for end of life and possible incapacity. Our work can ensure that New York City’s aging veterans are able to age in place in the community by making their wishes clear and giving their loved ones the right tools to carry out those wishes.
According to the VA’s most recent Community Homelessness Assessment, Local Education and Networking Groups (CHALENG) survey where the unmet needs of veterans are examined, it was determined that six of the top ten unmet needs of the veterans polled were legal in nature. While the veteran community faces a myriad of civil legal needs which impact their health, stability, housing, and productivity they are often left to face these challenges on their own. A recent study by the Legal Services Corporation found that 88% of veterans received inadequate or no professional legal help for their civil legal problems. This is why the New York City Council’s “Legal Services for Veterans Initiative” is so critical. Having access to free, high quality, veteran focused legal services will ensure a brighter future for those who have sacrificed so much for all of us.
NEW YORK CITY COUNCIL COMMITTEE ON VETERANS
SUBJECT: Oversight – Preliminary Budget Hearings – Veterans
Good morning. My name is Peter Kempner. I am the Legal Director at Volunteers of Legal Service (VOLS). VOLS was established in 1984 and our purpose is to leverage private attorneys to provide free legal services to low-income New Yorkers to help fill the justice gap.
In addition to my duties as Legal Director of VOLS, I founded and supervise the VOLS Veterans Initiative which provides free legal services to New York City veterans aged 60 and over, regardless of discharge status or period of service.
In addition to my work with the VOLS Veterans Initiative, I also created and teach the Veterans Justice Clinic at New York Law School; I sit on the New York City Bar Association’s Committee on Military and Veterans Affairs; I am a member of the New York State Bar Association Veterans Committee; I co-chair the New York Legal Services Veterans Working Group; I am a member of the veterans committee at the statewide New York Legal Services Coalition; and I have held many past positions focused on the civil legal needs of low income veterans.
Each year the United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) conducts their Community Homelessness Assessment, Local Education and Networking Groups (CHALENG) survey where they determine the unmet needs of veterans. In the most recently published survey, it was determined that six of the top ten unmet needs of the veterans polled were legal in nature. While the veteran community face a myriad of civil legal needs which impact their health, stability, housing, and productivity they are often left to face these challenges on their own. A recent study by the Legal Services Corporation found that 88% of veterans received inadequate or no professional legal help for their civil legal problems.
This is why the New York City Council’s Legal Services for Veterans Initiative is so critical. The New York City Council must be applauded for funding free legal services for our veteran community, and we urge the Council to take the necessary steps to safeguard and even increase this funding in the upcoming fiscal year. Having access to free, high quality, veteran focused legal services will ensure a brighter future for those who have sacrificed so much for all of us. The core work that VOLS Veterans Initiative does for aging veterans is the drafting and execution of life planning documents which include Last Wills and Testaments, Powers of Attorney, Health Care Proxies, Living Wills and other advance directives.
New York City’s veteran population is graying. The U.S. Census Bureau estimates that 38% of New York City’s veterans are over the age of 55 and that about a third served during the Vietnam War era. As of this year the youngest veterans who served during the Vietnam War period are 65 years old.
The COVID-19 pandemic revealed how vulnerable older veterans are. In January 2021, the United States Department of Veterans Affairs reported that more veterans had died of COVID19 than from Operation Iraqi Freedom (which lasted from 2003 – 2010) and Operation Enduring Freedom (which lasted from 2001 – 2015), combined. In addition, a 2020 study using national VA data showed that of veterans who tested positive for COVID-19 between February 28, 2020, and May 14, 2020, most deaths were attributed to being age 50 and older, male, and having a greater comorbidity burden.
Studies suggest that veterans, like the population at large, have not engaged in life planning. For example, a 2015 study of veterans diagnosed with cancer found that close to half lacked a documented advance directive. A 2017 study by the University of California found that 81% of more than 2,500 veterans they surveyed did not have an advanced directive. Among the U.S. population, approximately 37% have completed an advance directive, including 29% with living wills, according to an extensive review of 150 studies undertaken in 2017.
We must make sure that our aging veteran population are able to make their wishes clear, that they will have the right plan in place if their health declines, and that their wishes are able to be carried out by the people that they love and trust the most. By engaging in effective life planning, elderly and disabled veterans are more likely to stay in their homes, age in place, and live with dignity. A veteran who has executed a power of attorney empowers their agent to seek government benefits to pay for housing costs, to sign leases, apply for and recertify housing subsidies, and deal with any issue that may arise with their landlord or housing provider. That agent can ensure that utility bills and doctor bills are paid. These are the things that allow an aging veteran to stay in their home and avoid placement in a nursing home or be at risk of homelessness.
The VOLS Veterans Initiative has partnered with the New York City Department of Veterans’ Services (DVS) to help serve the community, but we know that DVS cannot meet all of the needs of the veteran community alone. It is essential that other city agencies effectively partner with DVS. To do this, all city agencies must effectively screen for military service when interacting with the public, be consistent and deliberate in communicating with DVS, and work to ensure that the needs of New York City’s Veterans are met.
Military service instills a core set of values that can have profound impact a service member even decades after completing their service. Values such as hard work, stoicism, service before self, teamwork, honor and courage often shape veterans’ lives. These values can also prevent veterans from asking for help when they need it. Members of the armed services are also taught to be self-reliant, to shun complaining in any form, and to conform and maintain a certain level of anonymity. But elderly veterans – whose age and infirmities can threaten their independence – must receive help if their wishes for life planning and end-of-life care are to be honored. We stand ready to help and appreciate the support of the Council and DVS as we seek to serve New York City’s older veterans.
Thank you for allowing us to submit this testimony and for supporting the New York City veteran community.
Peter Kempner, Esq.
Legal Director