The number of veterans who go without a home on any given night is unacceptable–around 40,000 nationally, HUD estimates. The scars our veterans carry–visible and invisible–render them more susceptible to mental illness, addiction, and homelessness. The Department of Veterans Affairs does offer relief for veterans, but accessing that relief can be extremely complicated and outrageously lengthy.
HAP believes that veterans are owed a great debt for their service. It’s why we made a commitment with our Veterans Project to ensure that any vets who are experiencing or facing homelessness have the best possible legal advice and representation in Philadelphia. Here’s what we did…
- In 2001, filling a vacuum of veterans law practitioners in Philadelphia, HAP partnered with the VA to establish a monthly legal clinic at the Veterans Multi-Service Center. The VMC long-served as a drop-in center for vets, providing hot meals and social services, and now, legal services.
- We began steadily connecting vets with VA benefits–some of whom had been denied multiple times or strung along for years, some since the Vietnam War.
- These vets had been experiencing homelessness for years, but with each win, they were finally able to come off the streets into secure, stable, and dignified housing.
- Word got out. In response to demand, we expanded our veterans legal clinics to several additional locations, including Philadelphia’s VA Medical Center and veteran-specific homeless shelters.
As our understanding of veteran issues grew, so did our approach. With twenty years of experience under our belts, we offer legal services in the following areas to benefit veterans and their families experiencing or facing homelessness:
- VA Compensation and Pension Benefits. It’s hard to believe, but many veterans who are entitled to VA benefits are denied these benefits by the VA, too often for indefensible reasons. When we meet veterans whom we know should be receiving a VA pension or compensation, we take up their fight for however long it takes. Whether it’s months or years, we never give up on our veterans because we know we’re their best shot at getting them what they are owed.
- Discharge Upgrades. All too many veterans unfairly received ”bad paper” discharges. Whether due to unrecognized mental illness or some other miscarriage of justice, we make sure our veteran clients are able to tell the VA their side of the story, often for the first time. Besides the dignity that comes with setting the record straight and receiving recognition for their service, these upgrades lead to income, healthcare, and an array of other services offered by the VA.
- Access to VA Healthcare. Vets with Other Than Honorable (OTH) discharges are often summarily denied VA healthcare despite the fact that many are legally eligible for treatment. HAP’s lawyers are committed to ensuring that these veterans receive the treatment they’re entitled to, especially when the VA provides insufficient explanation for denying treatment. In addition, HAP provides wide-spread consultation and education to the many vets with OTHs who don’t understand their eligibility for treatment at the VA.
- SOAR. Our SOAR Project remains the quickest and surest path to SSDI/SSI benefits. Whether a veteran’s disability is due to visible or invisible wounds, and whether those wounds were suffered inside or outside of combat, we make sure they get the benefits they need and deserve as American citizens, especially if they are still waiting on the VA for their benefits. For a sense of our success, in 2019 alone, we won $931,577 in SSI/SSDI benefits for 128 vets.
- Training and Professional Development. HAP’s success has led to national recognition, and we have emerged as a go-to resource on veterans law. HAP staff has traveled as far as Atlanta and Boston to provide trainings and CLE courses to pro-bono attorneys, indirectly benefiting countless vets outside of Philadelphia.
Twenty years later, and HAP remains Philadelphia’s best legal resource for veterans experiencing or facing homelessness. We are committed to this role, and now have three full-time attorneys on staff who practice veterans law. For more information or to volunteer for our Veterans Project, feel free to contact one of them:
Michael Taub, Esq.: [email protected]
Alie Muolo, Esq.: [email protected]
Joel Sobel, Esq.: [email protected]
