For Veterans experiencing homelessness, legal issues can be stressful and challenging to handle, especially when they stand in the way of access to stable housing.
These often costly barriers can include everything from having a driver’s license revoked, making it difficult to travel or receive housing assistance, to seeking an upgrade to a military discharge to be eligible for benefits.
At VA we want to help Veterans overcome these issues so they can become safely and permanently housed. Our Legal Services for Homeless Veterans and Veterans At-Risk for Homelessness (LSV-H) grant program is paving the way.
About the program
The grant program supplies funding to partners around the country which then provide free legal services to eligible Veterans who are homeless or at risk of homelessness.
At no cost, they can help with issues such as:
- Housing including eviction defense or landlord-tenant and foreclosure cases.
- Family law including child support, child custody, divorce, estate planning and family reconciliation.
- Income support including access to public benefits.
- Criminal defense for issues related to homelessness, such as outstanding warrants, fines, driver’s license revocation, citations, or expunging or sealing a criminal record.
- Protective orders and other legal matters related to domestic or intimate partner violence.
- Upgrade to military discharge.
- Access to health care.
- Employment law.
Grants that matter
At VA, we’re committed to ending Veteran homelessness and removing obstacles to accessing housing resources is critical to achieving that goal. Even minor legal issues can hamper a Veteran’s ability to compete in a difficult housing market.
Veterans who are experiencing legal issues, impacting their ability to obtain housing or stay housed, are not alone. Through our annual Project CHALENG survey, we have heard from Veterans nationwide who say access to legal services is a top barrier to housing. Knowing this, we created the LSV-H program, enlisting legal experts to help.
Authorized by the Johnny Isakson and David P. Roe Veterans Health Care and Benefits Improvement Act of 2020, the first grants were awarded in 2023 to nearly 80 organizations in 38 states and Washington, D.C.
This year, we’ve awarded nearly $27 million in grants to 108 organizations to help reach especially vulnerable populations, including women Veterans and Veterans living in rural communities and on tribal lands.
Read our press release announcing the 2024 grant awards.
View the list of 2024 LSV-H grantees.
Every Veteran deserves a safe, stable place to call home. For Veterans who face legal issues that are standing in their way of finding or keeping housing, overcoming those issues can be key to their success. We’re proud to offer services that help them do just that.
Learn about VA programs
- If you are a Veteran who is homeless or at risk for homelessness, call the National Call Center for Homeless Veterans at 877-4AID-VET (877-424-3838).
- Visit the VA Homeless Programs website to learn about housing initiatives and other programs for Veterans exiting homelessness.
- Check out the Ending Veteran Homelessness podcast to learn more about what VA is doing about Veteran homelessness.
- Learn how to get involved with housing homeless Veterans.
- Subscribe to the Homeless Programs Office newsletter to receive monthly updates about programs and supportive services for Veterans experiencing or at risk of homelessness.
- For more information about the programs offered by VA’s Legal Services for Veterans, including the LSV-H program and our pro bono Medical Legal Partnerships, visit LSV.
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It should be much, much easier for a homeless veteran to locate free legal services you happily hyped in your 9 July article. Why in the world do you advertise and promote a service then not explain to the veteran how to access that service in the article or the web pages devoted to assist homeless veterans? This article fails veterans and the local community service providers at many levels. For example, the list of grantees linked in the article contains no contact information for the providers who were awarded the grants.
A call to the National Call Center for Homeless Veterans asking for a contact number for the free legal services provider in Washington State resulted in the agent saying he does not have a listing for Washington State even though Northwest Justice Project is among those displayed on the LSV-H Grantee list for Washington State. I was referred to my local VA medical center for assistance.
A call to 800-698-2411 resulted in the call center agent referring me to a commercial web site, https://www.statesidelegal.org/ The site offers a local search feature. In my search, the site delivered local legal offices (including military base legal offices that veterans are not qualified to use) but none of the sites were listed as free, including Northwest Justice Project which is the Washington State LVS-H grantee for 2024 according to the article.
I strongly urge you to issue an update to the article that provides clear instructions for homeless veterans and the community service providers who serve them, about how to access the free legal services you are promoting.
Thank you
Greetings,
Who do I contact to take advantage of the legal program? I am interested in updating my will.
Personally, I think this is bullshi# passed by “lawmakers” so they think they look good in front of voters. How long would it take – how many months/years – if someone applied for any of this?