Homeless Vets, Returning to Los Angeles from Middle East in Growing Numbers, Get More Help From Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles (LAFLA)
Legal Services E-lert
Bibliographic Info:
Author: Press Release
Source: Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles
Date: September 10, 2008
LAFLA announces: "The [LSC-funded] Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles (LAFLA) has expanded its Bill Smith Homeless Veterans Project to address the increased demand for its services at a time when many veterans are returning from the wars in the Middle East. The Project, which is part of LAFLA's legal work in Government Benefits law, was previously located in downtown Los Angeles, but has moved to LAFLA's offices in Long Beach and East Los Angeles. Homeless veterans comprise 25 percent of the 73,000 homeless individuals in Los Angeles County. If not homeless, many veterans live in cheap hotels and over-crowded or sub-standard housing, despite benefits available through the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Legal support and advocacy remains one of the top ten unmet needs among homeless veterans . . . . The Project helps veterans with many critical services including filing claims for compensation or pension[s] from the VA. Claims are filed on behalf of indigent veterans suffering from service-connected disabilities such as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Agent Orange related disabilities, and/or disabilities suffered from returning veterans from the Persian Golf War. The Project also helps family members of living or deceased veterans apply for VA benefits."