For many U.S. veterans, life after service can become a fight of its own.

Veteran Gary Jackson faced eviction at the beginning of the last holiday season because he was an extreme hoarder. With the help of many local agencies, Legal Aid Society was able to spearhead a community effort that rescued Mr. Jackson from homelessness. One less homeless veteran statistic was recorded.

But that was only part of this great story.

Since working through his eviction case, our staff was able to arrange counseling for Mr. Jackson to help him deal with his hoarding propensity. Even more, we secured retirement and Veterans Affairs benefits, increasing his annual income from $1,500 to more than $12,000 – still not a king’s ransom by any means, but enough for Mr. Jackson to live independently, though quite frugally.

With a home, an income and counseling, Mr. Jackson’s story is a testimony to the great work that can be achieved when advocates seek real solutions to issues that perpetuate a life of hopelessness.

But his story is hardly an island. At Legal Aid Society, we commonly interact with veterans who face not just one civil legal issue, but many –issues that can take a community of caring professionals to remedy.

Homelessness

The National Coalition of Homeless Veterans finds that 12 percent of the nation’s homeless population are veterans, meaning almost 50,000 veterans are without a home on any given night. Perhaps even more startling, the organization reports that 1.4 million other veterans are considered at risk of homelessness due to poverty, lack of support networks and dismal living conditions in overcrowded or substandard housing.

Poverty

Like homelessness, poverty is rampant among many of our nation’s heroes, with more than 1.4 million veterans living below the U.S. poverty threshold. According to recent data from the National Center for Veterans Analysis and Statistics:

• Younger veterans are at the most risk for living in poverty.
• The highest veteran poverty rates are clustered in states located in the Southeast and Northwest United States.
• The growth rate of veterans in SNAP households is increasing sharply.
• Disabled veterans have higher poverty rates than disabled non-veterans for all age groups except over age 65.

Medical care

Recent headlines – both locally and nationally— have highlighted serious issues of veterans stuck in a backlog to receive medical treatment. Data from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs found that in February of 2015, more than 10,000 veterans waited more than 90 days to receive a medical appointment, and local lawmakers are calling for investigations into alleged inefficiencies that delay veterans’ health care through local Veterans Affairs health care system.

For many of our veterans, these issues and so many more co-exist on a daily basis. We are grateful to work with partners such as Operation Stand Down Tennessee (OSDTN), Ft. Campbell and many other organizations to identify problems and work to holistically improve the lives of our veterans – not just with one isolated problem, but targeting systemic causes of cyclical, chronic issues.

Every veteran sacrificed for our nation. Each deserves the support of our country to retain their basic needs in life. Above all, they deserve the dignity and hope that is found when those basic needs are secured. We must be persistent and fight for those who fought for us.

Veterans who need help resolving civil legal issues are invited to join us at our free legal clinic especially for veterans, held the third Wednesday of every month at the Operation Stand Down Tennessee office, 1125 12th Avenue South, Nashville. You must call 615-248-1981 to schedule an appointment. If you cannot get to Nashville but still need help, you can call our toll free number 1-800-238-1443 to find the closest Legal Aid Society office to you, which may be able to help.

Gary Housepian is the executive director of Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands, Tennessee’s largest nonprofit law firm. Serving 48 counties with eight offices across the region, Legal Aid Society takes a comprehensive approach to providing high-quality, free civil legal services and community education to those facing the loss of the basic necessities of life. Learn more at www.las.org.