The Invisible Battlefield: Veterans Facing Health-Harming Legal Needs in Civilian Life
Description
Within the veteran population, at the intersection of mental health and poverty, there are thousands of individuals with complex needs. While these needs may manifest in different ways, many of them require help from a lawyer. Civil legal problems — from threatened evictions to other-than-honorable discharges from the military — are often the greatest obstacles to a veteran’s health, housing, stability, and productivity. Indeed, five of the top ten needs reported by homeless veterans in an annual survey by the Department of Veterans Affairs require legal assistance. Yet while civil legal needs among veterans are prevalent, they often remain invisible.
This issue brief discusses how medical-legal partnerships (MLPs) are poised to help address the unmet legal needs of veterans by integrating civil legal aid services into existing healthcare services for veterans. MLPs break down the silos between legal stakeholders and the health care team to address veteran access to: healthy housing, VA benefits, an honorable military discharge status, and employment. While many veterans still face invisible battlefields in their civilian lives and lack support for their complex legal needs, MLPs for veterans are growing in number and expertise — showing great promise for both confronting and preventing veterans’ legal barriers to health and well-being.
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Authors
Rishi Manchanda, Chief Medical Officer, The Wonderful Company and Former Lead Physician, VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System
Shannon Murphy, Research Assistant, National Center for Medical-Legal Partnership
Ellen Lawton, Co-Principal Investigator, National Center for Medical-Legal Partnership
Margaret Middleton, Executive Director, Connecticut Veterans Legal Center
This issue brief was published by the National Center for Medical-Legal Partnership.
Acknowledgment
This report is possible with support from The Kresge Foundation and the Public Welfare Foundation.