The VOLS Veterans Initiative joined other members of the New York City Veterans Law Working Group in submitting a statement to the New York State Permanent Commission on Access to Justice. VOLS and other members of the Working Group advocated for the increased screening of prior military service by courts and other legal service providers.
Screening is fundamental in ensuring that veterans and individuals with prior military service can access the full range of benefits available to them. While, in recent years, New York State has fought to decrease the rate of homelessness within the veteran population, COVID-19 and its economic impact pose a threat in undoing this decade-long progress. When the current eviction moratorium ends, veterans can face threats of eviction and subsequently turn towards shelters or the streets. This will be a particularly troubling event for many senior veterans who are not only in the age group more vulnerable to exposure to COVID-19 but may also suffer underlying immunodeficiencies from exposure to Agent Orange and other chemicals during their service. The impact of homelessness will simply be devastating.
Moreover, such efforts towards increased screening will also address issues of the veterans’ civil legal services gap. For instance, one report from 2017 found that 71% of veterans experienced some form of a civil legal problem in the previous year. While another study from that same year found that low-income seniors did not receive either inadequate or no professional assistance for 88% of these civil legal problems. Increase screening can help tackle this issue, but it can also help veterans identify programs and benefits to act as preventative measures.
Individuals who have served in the military have often sacrificed for our communities. Legal service providers and courts must do more to ensure that these individuals do not slip through the cracks and proper screening of military service is key.