VOLS Legal Director Peter Kempner testified today (10/19) at a New York City Council hearing held by the Committee for Veterans. As our city enters what is likely to be a second-wave of the virus, New York’s veterans population remains vulnerable. As a consequence of the pandemic, many veterans face homelessness and possible eviction. Secondly, the uncertainty of the virus underlie the importance of securing wishes and decisions under life planning documents. It is imperative that the city’s legal services are able to respond to these dueling issues.
The entire hearing can be watched on the New York City Council website and you can find a copy of Peter’s statement below.
NEW YORK CITY COUNCIL COMMITTEE ON VETERANS
Thursday, October 19, 2020 1:00 p.m.
SUBJECT: Oversight – Needs of Veterans During COVID-19
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. 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 City 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.
We thank the New York City Council Committee on Veterans for holding this critical hearing to examine the needs of veterans during COVID-19. My testimony focuses on two legal issues faced by New York’s veterans in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis and how it is more important than ever to ensure that veterans have access to free legal services in order to fend off potential devastation.
• Eviction and Homelessness Prevention
• Life Planning
Prior to the COVID-19 outbreak, the VOLS Veterans Initiative conducted free weekly legal clinics at the Manhattan Campus of the Department of Veterans Affairs’ NY Harbor Health Care System where we provided free civil legal services to low income veterans aged 60 and over. After the crisis shut the VA Hospital to outside visitors, we moved our services online and launched a legal hotline for low income elderly veterans.
The number one legal issue faced by the veterans we serve is eviction and homelessness prevention. Over the past decade New York City, working alongside the New York legal services providers, the New York City Department of Veterans’ Services, veteran services organizations, the VA and other community partners, has made tremendous strides in addressing veteran homelessness. Using federally funded programs like the VA’s Supportive Services for Veterans Families (SSVF); HUD-VASH Section 8; and the Homeless Providers Grant and Per Diem Program; in combination with local initiatives like the Universal Access to Council program, New York City has cut its veteran homeless population significantly.
The COVID-19 crisis has the potential to undue much of the progress we have made and return us to the bad old days where veteran homelessness was much more pronounced and widespread. It is estimated that tens of thousands of New Yorkers may face homelessness when the current pauses on eviction filings and executions of warrants of eviction are lifted.
There is no doubt that there are scores of veterans amongst those facing homelessness and many of these veterans are those who are the most vulnerable. These are veterans who suffer from service-connected disabilities, veterans with histories of substance abuse, veterans with mental health disabilities and veterans who were formerly homeless. If evicted many of these veterans will end up in shelters or the streets. Homeless shelters have proven to be a hotbed of COVID-19 spread and may put these veterans at risk of death.
The best way to prevent a backslide on veteran homelessness is to ensure it does not happen in the first place. This means doing everything we can to prevent the eviction of veteran tenants, which must include making sure that these veterans have access to free legal services in the event they face an eviction filing. It has been proven that tenants who are represented by counsel in an eviction proceeding are much more likely to be able to remain in their homes. Having access to counsel will ensure that these veteran’s will be able to take advantage of protections provided by the New York Tenant Safe Harbor Act, and that they will be able to better access grants and other programs to help pay off rent arrears, and will ensure their rights are protected.
The next legal issue I want to address is making sure that veterans who are most vulnerable to poor health outcomes if infected with COVID-19 can engage in proper life planning. A core part of our work is to provide free wills and advance directives to low income senior veterans. These critical documents ensure that the wishes of senior veterans are clear and are carried out by the people they love and trust the most.
Veterans infected with COVID-19 may find themselves in a medically induced coma and on a ventilator for weeks or months. During this time rent will go unpaid, bills will pile up and loved ones may be forced to file costly and unpleasant legal proceedings like guardianships if a veteran becomes incapacitated in the long term. A veteran who has the ability to put a proper plan in place by completing a Power of Attorney, a Health Care Proxy and other advanced directives can ensure that the negative collateral consequences of incapacity are minimized and potentially avoided. By empowering their loved ones with the proper tools to handle their affairs while they battle the virus, they can focus on healing instead of worrying about whether they will have a home to return to when they are released from the hospital.
The common thread that brings these issues together is how access to free legal counsel is transformative for veterans in need. From eviction prevention, to life planning, to accessing critical government benefits and on so many other fronts, having access to free legal services is an important tool in our toolbox to help abate the negative impact of the COVID-19 crisis on theNew York veteran community.
Thank you for allowing us to submit this testimony and for holding this important hearing.
Peter Kempner, Esq.
Legal Director