The Texas Access to Justice Foundation, or TAJF, wraped up Texas Veterans Legal Aid Week, a statewide effort to provide legal aid to qualified veterans, on Saturday, November 17. The weeklong event brought legal aid programs, local bar associations, law schools, and pro bono attorneys together to offer free legal services in civil legal matters, including:
1. Denial of critical medical care;
2. Problems receiving benefits;
3. Legal issues related to disabilities;
4. Family law matters arising from deployment; and
5. Other issues that may arise due to a veteran’s absence from home during military service.
Texas has the second-highest population of veterans in the U.S., according to TAJF. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs says legal issues make up four of the top 10 needs of homeless veterans.
In 2017, TAJF provided $1.87 million in grants to 14 nonprofit organizations that provided free legal services to over 8,800 veterans. The same year, the foundation also announced the Remembering Our Heroes campaign, which benefits the Joe Jamail Endowment for Veteran Legal Services. Individuals can make donations in honor of a specific person, living or deceased, who is a veteran or is active duty in the U.S. military. A donation was recently made by the Lowe family in honor of L. Hamilton Lowe, a Navy veteran and the first vice president of the State Bar of Texas—his granddaughter, Joyce Lowe is an attorney with Legal Aid of NorthWest Texas in San Angelo.
For a complete list of event locations and times, after Texas Veterans Legal Aid Week, go to texaslawhelp.org/tvlaw-2018.