U.S. Reps. Steve Stivers (R-OH) and Mike Turner (R-OH) are lead cosponsors of a bipartisan proposal that would allow the Department of Veterans Affairs to enter into public or private partnerships with the sole intent of offering legal services to the nation’s military veterans who are or may be at risk of becoming homeless.
“Ensuring that veterans are able to access the services they need to move out of homelessness is a small piece of the larger commitment we must make to those who served our country,” Rep. Stivers said on Wednesday. “These men and women put their lives on the line for us, and to see any of them fall into homelessness is devastating.”
The Homeless Veterans Legal Services Act, H.R. 716, introduced on Jan. 23 by U.S. Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-OH), is also cosponsored by U.S. Rep. Ted Lieu (D-CA). Rep. Stivers said he’s proud to work with the lawmakers on an effort “to address this critical shortcoming of legal assistance.”
In fact, a lack of such legal services accounted for four of the top 10 unmet needs for all military veterans, according to a Project CHALENG (Community Homelessness Assessment, Local Education and Networking Groups) survey released in 2015 by the U.S. Department of Veterans’ Affairs (VA).
The department says data from the CHALENG surveys has assisted it in developing new services for veterans, like the Homeless Veterans Dental Program, and in expanding programs such as Veterans Justice Outreach and the Supportive Services for Veterans Families (SSVF).
Likewise, community groups also use CHALENG data when applying for grants to address the local needs of veterans who are homeless or at risk of homelessness, the VA says.
“Homelessness is a real issue facing many who have served our country honorably, and we must do more to support these veterans,” Rep. Turner said on Wednesday.
Current law authorizes the VA to fund only specific legal services offered through the SSVF program and the Grant Per Diem (GDP) program, according to information provided by Rep. Stivers’ office noting that, if enacted, S. 716 would permit the VA to partner with public and private entities to increase legal services for any veteran who is homeless or is at risk of homelessness.
“Providing expanded access to free, high-quality legal services is one way we can uphold the promises made to our nation’s veterans,” said Rep. Beatty earlier this week.
H.R. 716 has been referred for consideration to the U.S. House Veterans’ Affairs Committee which in 2017 considered the same-named H.R. 1993, which Reps. Stivers and Turner also cosponsored along with 18 other congressmen, including U.S. Reps. Mark Amodei (R-NV) and Dave Joyce (R-OH).
“As a previous cosponsor of this bill, I am proud to continue to support bolstering the resources available to our nation’s veterans,” Rep. Turner said following the introduction of H.R. 716 for consideration during the 116th Congress.