On Monday, August 24, VOLS Legal Director and Elderly Project Director Peter Kempner spoke at a webinar training hosted by Fordham University’s Feerick Center. The program titled “Representing Veterans in Housing Matters: An Introduction to Veteran Cultural Competency, Veteran Benefits, and Special Housing Programs for Veteran Clients” helped train housing-related attorneys on how to better serve clients who are currently serving or who had previously served in the armed forces.
Program description, below (courtesy of the Feerick Center):
This training will provide New York State attorneys representing clients in housing-related matters the foundation needed to screen their clients for past and present military service. Screening for military service will not only ensure that clients are screened for VA benefit eligibility, but will also ensure that clients are being served in a setting that is infused with some military and veteran cultural competence.
The program will review the basic eligibility criteria for some of the most commonly used benefits by low-income, disabled and older veterans as well as their survivors. This will include:
– Service connected disability benefits,
– The VA pension,
– HUD-VASH Section 8
– The Supportive Services for Veterans Families program.
We will also provide a brief overview of some New York State veterans housing preferences and discuss how the Service member Civil Relief Act and the New York State Sailors and Soldiers Civil Relief Act can be used to defend eviction proceedings and to help gain succession rights to both subsidized and regulated housing.
A recording of the webinar can be accessed below. Please use the access code ‘HEi+059= ‘ when prompted to do so.