Justice & Legal Services Resource Network

Key topics

  • Increasing access to benefits, programs, and opportunities available to justice-involved veterans and families, as well as those with bad paper discharges and other legal challenges.

  • Encouraging strong follow-up and direct referrals from justice and legal service providers to other services and to address unmet needs.

  • Sharing information about legal services and Access to Justice initiatives and submitting events to the shared calendar using the tag #legal or #policy and other tags so they appear above and on relevant resource or regional pages.

  • Discussing relevant systemic and emerging issues and working to raise awareness, brainstorm, and respond.

  • Organizing community summits on relevant topics and issues and sharing information and resources on this page for easy access.

Organizations aligned in our Justice & Legal Services Resource Network include those providing legal services to service members, veterans, and their families, as well as those who work with justice-impacted or incarcerated veterans in any capacity. Events focused on legal issues and services and support for justice-impacted veterans and families are included from the shared calendar below.

Summits

Front line service providers working directly with justice-impacted veterans and families or those who need other legal support know what the key issues are facing their clients and are often the first to identify gaps and unmet needs. Check out slides and information from past summits to catch up.

  • On October 30, 2019, GBVC convened a community summit on Legal Issues Impacting Service Members & Veterans and Services Available, hosted by the Veterans Legal Clinic at the Legal Services Center of Harvard Law School. During this summit we learned about legal and benefit-related issues impacting the military and veteran community.

    • Julia Schutt, Veterans Legal Clinic, on the launch of the Massachusetts Veterans Benefit Calculator, an online tool that will help Massachusetts veterans determine if they are eligible to receive financial assistance from the Massachusetts Department of Veterans Services through Chapter 115.

    • Anna Richardson & Jessica Youngberg, Veterans Legal Services with updates on state and federal veterans rights

    • Pat Baker, Massachusetts Law Reform Institute, on veterans' access to public assistance in Massachusetts; and

    • Anne Meeker, Office of Congressman Moulton & Rachel McNeill, Office of Congressman Kennedy, on services available to constituents and a bill to address a need to create an independent Veteran Advocate Service at the federal level, similar to the Taxpayer Advocate Service.

  • On November 1, 2018, GBVC convened a community summit exploring Healthcare Access & Issues Impacting Service Members, Veterans & Families, hosted by Tufts Health Plan. This summit focused on health-related topics and access-related issues impacting service members, veterans and their families with presentations by:

    • Tufts Health Plan

    • Dana Montalto, Veterans Legal Clinic, Legal Services Center of Harvard Law School, on Access to Care for Veterans with Other Than Honorable Discharges

    • Jayson C. Gilberti, CEO, MVPvets on the Mentoring Veterans Program offering assistance and support to transitioning service members seeking meaningful employment in life science companies.

    • Tom Leonard, US Family Health Plan, TRICARE

  • On September 17, 2017, GBVC convened an Education Summit, hosted by William James College. In addition to learning more about WJC’s Military & Veterans Psychology and Train Vets to Treat Vets programs, we heard from:

    • Dennis Magnasco from Congressman Moulton's office briefed us on the Forever GI Bill.

    • Winston Berkman, from the Legal Services Center of Harvard Law School discussed the impact of predatory student lending on veterans and shared various resources.

    • Janine Wert, Director of Veterans Services at UMass Lowell, discussed the Transition Success Model and benefits available to student veterans.

    The talks were followed by a Q&A, roundtable discussion, and networking.

  • On August 3, 2016, GBVC convened a Legal Summit focused on justice-involved veterans and veterans with “bad paper” discharges, hosted by the Klarman Family Foundation. In addition to hearing from Jennie Segal about the Foundation and from Boston’s Commissioner of Veterans Services and Chief of Health & Human Services, we launched GBVC’s Network Directory and learned about the experiences of justice-involved veterans and veterans with bad paper discharges in Massachusetts.

    • Laura Piscopo of the Massachusetts Department of Veterans Services discussed the Jail Diversion & Veterans Treatment Court programs, and the role of the SAVE Team.

    • Brian Martin and George Gorgiano of the Plymouth County Correctional Facility discussed their work to support successful re-entry for veterans incarcerated in the facility.

    • Dana Montalto & Betsy Gwin of the Veterans Legal Clinic at the Legal Services Center of Harvard Law School discussed bad paper discharges and their impact on access to services.

    • Congressman Joe Kennedy III, US Representative for the 4th District, discussed the importance of access to justice and shared insights from his prior work and encounters with veterans as an assistant district attorney.

    Visit our Bad Paper page to learn more about the summit and breakout discussions. The summit was followed by networking at Charlesmark Lounge.

  • On July 15, 2015, Veterans Legal Services hosted the Greater Boston Veterans Collaborative’s fourth community summit at the Boston Bar Association.

    • Rebecca Forbes from IAVA discussed the Shared Programs & Understanding work groups short term goals to curate a shared calendar and long term goals to enhance connectivity and referrals of veterans among organizations.

    • Sean Horgan from Team Rubicon Region 1 discussed the Collective Impact & Measurement work group’s goals to maintain a survey of veterans and a survey of veterans organizations.

    • Syracuse University’s IVMF program conducted a preliminary research project in May & June 2015 in conjunction with the Klarman Family Foundation to understand the characteristics of veteran serving organizations in Massachusetts, looking at 4,200 organizations across 86 service categories (education, community, health and wellness, family support, and employment). In the short term, the most under-resourced area was employment support. The longer term need was to connect unserviced demand to “substantial capacity.”

    • Rachel McNeill with The Mission Continues Boston Service Platoon discussed Affinity Groups and emerging opportunities to collaborate around Resiliency, Professional Development, and Health & Wellness Programs.

    Slides are available here. The summit was followed by a VetTogether at Anthem Kitchen.

The Center for Disease Control’s Strategies for Communities support a public health approach to suicide prevention that uses data to drive decision-making; implements and evaluates multiple prevention strategies to enhance resilience and improve well-being based on the best available evidence; and works to prevent people from becoming suicidal.

According to the American Bar Association, veterans experiencing homelessness often require legal assistance for issues like a lost driver’s license, outstanding warrants or fines, child support, foreclosures and evictions, discharge upgrades, and guardianships, which can snowball, as well as credit counseling and expungements to recover.

Legal and financial issues are a known risk factor for suicide. Legal services work to prevent suicide by enhancing protective factors and mitigating risk factors among service members, veterans, and their families, caregivers, and survivors. Click here to learn more about protective and risk factors.

According to VA’s 2023 National Veteran Suicide Annual Report, around 51.3% of veterans who died by suicide overall in 2021 received neither VHA or VBA services. The lowest suicide rates were among veterans who received only VBA services. Suicide rates have increased less quickly over the long term among veterans receiving VHA care (particularly men) since 2001.

Developed by Swords to Plowshares, TOOLBOX.vet is an online library that aims to better equip advocates and providers with the tools they need to connect with veterans of all ages and assist them. Check out Understand Your Role in Getting Veterans Connected to the VA and The Veteran Advocate: History & Concept of Veteran Community-Based Care and Advocacy.

Justice & Legal Services Network Directory

Access to Justice

The White House Legal Aid Interagency Roundtable, which convenes 28 federal agencies to improve coordination among federal programs, increase meaningful access to justice for all and promulgate best practices, published Access to Justice through Simplification: A Roadmap for People-Centered Simplification of Federal Government Forms, Processes, and Language.

The December 2022 report highlights strategies to simplify forms and processes to support access to federal programs, services, and benefits without the legal help often needed to navigate complex processes employed by federal agencies. The Roundtable recommended that agencies:

  • Understand the Problem. Meaningfully engage with the communities served and impacted by government programs to understand the barriers to access.

  • Implement Strategies. Incorporate feedback from that engagement to simplify forms and processes.

  • Evaluate Outcomes. Evaluate the impact of simplification efforts to determine whether they meaningfully expand access, or if further improvements are possible.

VA Veterans Justice Programs

The VA’s Veterans Justice Outreach Program is a homelessness prevention initiative of the VA’s Homeless Programs Office focused on identifying justice-involved veterans and reaching out to them to facilitate their access to VA services at the earliest possible point by developing and maintaining partnerships between the VA and key elements of the criminal justice system.

  • Veterans Justice Outreach Specialists are located within each VA healthcare system. Eligible justice-involved veterans in Massachusetts can email the closest VJO Specialist below who can assist in obtaining access to VA health care.

    With the veterans’ permission, VJO Specialists may update the court about treatment progress.

  • The VA’s Veterans Re-entry Search Service helps employees in criminal justice systems identify veterans who could benefit from VA assistance to aid in their re-entry after incarceration.

  • Most incarcerated veterans eventually reenter the community. The VA’s Healthcare for Re-Entry Veterans (HCRV) program is designed to promote success and prevent homelessness among Veterans returning home after incarceration.

    HCRV offers outreach and pre-release assessment services for veterans in prison. Upon release from prison, HCRV offers referrals and connections for veterans to medical, mental health and social services, including employment services; and short-term case management services.

    The VA’s in Massachusetts and Rhode Island (which covers areas in Southeast Massachusetts) each have an HCRV specialist. To request assistance for yourself or for another veteran, contact:

    For questions about the national HCRV program, contact Jessica Blue-Howells.

In general, VJOs provide outreach services to justice-involved veterans for criminal matters that do not result in their incarceration to ensure access to VA care and benefits, including through the Health Care for Re-Entry Veterans Program.

VJO specialists play a critical role as members of Veteran Treatment Court treatment teams by providing access to VA healthcare services for VA eligible veteran defendants who would otherwise receive care at the expense of the local government. Based on research from 2016–2017:

  • VJO program data indicated that 90% of veterans visited by VJO specialists had an in person visit for VA healthcare services. Lower rates of engagement were reported among veterans receiving services through the Healthcare for Homeless Veterans program.

Based on the VA’s 2023 National Veteran Suicide Annual Report:

  • The suicide rate for recent VHA users who received VA Justice Program services increased by 10.2% from 2020 to 2021 to 151 per 100,000, the highest observed since 2001.

  • The unadjusted suicide rate for recent VHA users with homelessness indicators increased by 38.2% from 2020 to 2021 to 112.9 per 100,000, also the highest observed since 2001.

In November 2023, Benzodiazepine Prescriptions for Homeless VA Service Users with Mental Illness demonstrated homeless veterans are more likely to receive risky and potentially inappropriate combinations of concurrent benzodiazepine and opioid or sedative prescriptions and/or benzodiazepine prescriptions increasing their risk of overdose.

  • The VA began hiring VJO Specialists in response to the Veterans Treatment Court Improvement Act of 2018, primarily social workers. According to the GAO Report:

    • VA did not report required information, such as the number of veterans who lack access to VJO Specialists as required because the VA does not collect this data. VJO Program officials reported that future research would help them estimate this number.

    • Veterans with other-than-honorable discharges may not know they are eligible for VA mental health care under the 2020 VA policy extending healthcare services to certain members of this subgroup.

    GAO recommended that VJO specialists’ training be improved to increase awareness of services available to veterans with OTH discharges, and to enhance planning for research on justice-involved veterans’ use of VA services.

  • VHA Directives articulate the reason for the issue of directives and related issues, in addition to providing key definitions. VHA Directives supersede other national, VISN-level, and facility-level policies or memos issued to the extent they are in conflict.

    Within VHA Directives, you will find background for a policy and related authorities; exemptions; and offices and individuals responsible for implementation, training, and oversight at the national, regional, and local facility levels.

    What is Included in the VA Medical Benefits Package

    In general, the entire VA Medical Benefits Package is available to all VA enrolled veterans with specific care provided when it is determined by a VA provider that it aligns with generally accepted practice standards and will promote, preserve, or restore the health of a particular veteran.

    The Rights of VA Patients

    All VA patients have rights under 38 CFR § 17.33 which all VA employees must respect and support. The rights of VA patients are in addition to any other legal rights. Visit our Healthcare resource page for more information on VA Patient Rights. All VA patients’ rights include:

    • The right to achieve treatment purposes under the least restrictive conditions necessary.

    • The right to be free from unnecessary or excessive medication. Medication cannot be used as punishment, for the convenience of the staff, or be prescribed in quantities that interfere with patients’ treatment programs.

    • The right to be free from physical restraint or seclusion. It may not be used as punishment, for the convenience of staff, or as a substitute for treatment programs.

    • Restraint or seclusion may only be used in situations where less restrictive means of preventing harm have been determined to be inappropriate or insufficient.

      • There must be a substantial risk of imminent harm by the patient to themselves or others and a formal determination has to be made demonstrating that less restrictive means are inappropriate or insufficient.

    Patients' legal rights can't be denied by virtue of being involuntarily committed or voluntarily admitted in a VA facility unless otherwise provided for by state law. Re-entry and justice-involved veterans must generally be served in the same patient-centered manner as all veterans in all treatment settings.

  • VHA Directive 1162.06(1) last amended March 3, 2020 establishes procedures for the Veterans Justice Programs (VJP) and incorporates the functions of both the Health Care for Reentry Veterans (HCRV) and Veterans Justice Outreach (VJO) Programs.

    Responsibilities of VJO Specialists and definitions are outlined in the Directive. This VHA Directive was scheduled for re-certification on or before the last working day of September 2022. It will continue to serve as national VHA policy until it is either recertified or rescinded.

 
 

The Massachusetts Center of Excellence for Specialty Courts is an initiative of the Executive Office of the Massachusetts Trial Court bringing innovative, evidence-based, and equitable interventions to the Mental Health Courts, Recovery Courts, and Veterans Treatment Courts. 

Mental Health Courts

Recovery Courts

Veterans Treatment Courts

Veterans Treatment Courts are court-supervised, treatment-focused collaboratives initiated, funded, and operated by local governments. VTCs are designed to manage criminal cases involving defendants with a history of military service by offering rehabilitative services to eligible veterans.

The VTC program requires abstinence from substance use, mandatory treatment, accountability, and weekly interaction with the court and a coordinated effort by service providers. Court sessions aim to improve public safety by dealing with underlying PTSD, TBI, and MST.

 
 

The Massachusetts Executive Office of Veterans’ Services (EOVS) offers peer support and case management services for justice-involved veterans through the Massachusetts SAVE Team’s Justice & Diversion Peer Specialists (JDPS). Veterans can self-refer or be referred by courts or legal counsel.

The JDPS provides peer support, referrals, and navigation assistance to the veteran, counsel, and the court. The SAVE Team can assist veterans involved in Veterans Treatment Courts, including veterans who aren’t eligible for services through VA’s Justice Outreach Program. 

Veterans Legal Services

Veterans Legal Services is based in Boston and provides free in-person legal clinics as well as remote services by phone and online to income-eligible veterans throughout Massachusetts. Veterans can contact VLS by email or at (857) 317-4474, or by completing the VLS Eligibility Screening Form.

VLS offers assistance with a range of non-criminal legal issues involving bankruptcy, child custody/support, CORI issues/criminal record sealing, consumer debt, discharge upgrades, divorce, domestic violence protections, housing, immigration, and state/federal benefits.

VLS offers in-person legal clinics at partner sites, including the New England Center and Home for Veterans in Boston, Volunteers of America in Quincy, Chelsea Veterans’ Home, and the Norfolk County Veterans Treatment Court (civil cases only) in Dedham.

The Bob Woodruff Foundation supports in person VLS clinics at the Bedford and Brockton VA campuses by referral from VA social workers or other VA care providers.

In March 2022, VLS hosted a virtual panel discussion on Collaborative Care in the Prevention of Veteran Suicide focusing on how greater collaboration can improve veterans’ wellness and the important role of medical-legal partnerships in mitigating social and economic conditions impacting veterans’ health.

Legal Services Center of Harvard Law School

The WilmerHale Legal Services Center of Harvard Law School fights for fairness and justice by meeting the community’s legal needs, training the next generation of lawyers, and fostering legal, economic, and social change. The LSC is a community-based clinical law program that provides essential civil legal services to low- and moderate-income residents of Greater Boston.

The LSC works in the areas of predatory lending and consumer protection, post-foreclosure eviction defense, family law, domestic violence, estate planning, disability benefits, and veterans legal services (including discharge upgrades) to provide a continuum of advocacy resources for vulnerable community members.

Prospective clients of Harvard’s Veterans Law Unit can call (617) 390-2525 to receive an appointment for the next available intake slot. If you reach voicemail, leave a message to receive a return call to schedule an intake. 

Within LSC’s Veterans Law and Disability Benefits Clinic (the “Veterans Legal Clinic”), students with the Veterans Law Unit work to protect the rights of veterans and their families and persons with disabilities through the Veterans Justice Project, Estate Planning Project, and Safety Net Project of the Veterans Legal Clinic. The Veterans Law Unit focuses on:

While the Veterans Law Unit is the primary project serving veterans, others focusing either exclusively or substantially on representing veterans include the Federal Tax Unit; Project on Predatory Student Lending; and Safety Net Project. 

The Veterans Enterprise Initiative is a collaboration between the VLC and Transactional Law Clinics of HLS for eligible veterans to receive legal help in starting or operating a small business (LSC also has a Community Enterprise Project). The LSC’s Housing Law Unit, Family Law & Domestic Violence Unit, and LGBTQ+ Advocacy project are also open to eligible veterans. 

The People’s Law School

The People’s Law School of the LSC is a community legal education program providing educational workshops for the public on a range of legal topics, including military discharge upgrades, state veterans’ benefits, debt collection issues, bankruptcy, tenant rights, Social Security overpayments and waivers, and estate planning and probate court.

  • If you are with an organization, community group, or service provider and would like to request a People’s Law School workshop, contact (617) 522-3003 and ask to speak to the People’s Law School Coordinator.

  • The Veterans Law Unit also provide legal education trainings to community groups and service providers on topics relevant to veterans. If you are interested in receiving or hosting a training, you can contact them to discuss it further.

The project is currently offering Know Your Rights about SNAP / Food Stamp Benefits workshops on the 1st Thursdays and Know Your Rights About Social Security Disability Benefits workshops on the 2nd Thursdays in person at the Boston Public Library.

VA Caregiver Program Legal Services

The VA now offers no cost Legal & Financial Planning Services to Designated Primary Family Caregivers enrolled in VA’s Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers. A Call Center is available 24/7 at (833) 422-7382 or caregivers can register here and follow the prompts to receive a call to set up an appointment to discuss individualized services with a Concierge for:

  • household budgeting, college expense planning and student loans, retirement planning, and a 90-day financial coaching program;

  • debt dispute resolution, debt management, and credit management;

  • creation of simple wills, advanced directives, and power of attorney and drafting instruments and documents pertaining to guardianship, credit reporting agencies, businesses, and debt collector notifications; and

  • education on state regulations on relevant topics including insurance review and education, mortgage loans and refinancing, identity theft and preventative steps in cases of personal data compromise and 90-day restorative services support for those experiencing identity theft.

Concierges are certified financial planners and paralegals who can provide guidance and education on routine issues and make referrals for the services outlined above. The Concierge handles the details of each inquiry, providing guidance and support throughout the process, as well as referrals and appointments with a national network of attorneys.

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