Swords to Plowshares Prepares for Iraq and Afghanistan Vets. shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks.

Size: px

Start display at page:

Download "Swords to Plowshares Prepares for Iraq and Afghanistan Vets. shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks."

Erica Dorsey
5 years ago
Views:

Swords to Plowshares Prepares for Iraq and Afghanistan Vets Nina Schuyler It s midmorning and the waiting room of Swords to Plowshares begins to fill up.

Or perhaps he s looking at what s painted on the wall, Isaiah 2:4, They shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks. Nation shall not lift up sword against nation.

He s trying to fill out a form, but his hand shakes so badly he They shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks. Nation shall not lift up sword against nation.

1 Swords to Plowshares Prepares for Iraq and Afghanistan Vets Nina Schuyler It s midmorning and the waiting room of Swords to Plowshares begins to fill up. A man with a red, weathered face sits in a chair and stares at the poster, Honoring All Veterans: November 11, 1995, Veteran s Day. Or perhaps he s looking at what s painted on the wall, Isaiah 2:4, They shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks. Nation shall not lift up sword against nation. Neither shall they learn war any more. An elderly man in a wheelchair is not looking at either the poster or the scripture. He s trying to fill out a form, but his hand shakes so badly he They shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks. Nation shall not lift up sword against nation. Neither shall they learn war any more. can barely write his name. Another man with a low-riding cowboy hat just sits. Beside him is a rotating rack overflowing with information about nearly everything depression, bipolar disorder, housing, how to get a driver s license, meal boxes, credit for working families, and what to do if you are arrested. Isaiah 2:4 When a young man walks in, everyone s attention turns to him. He wears a red baseball cap and a 49ers jacket and tells the intake worker at the front desk that he needs help getting his Veterans Administration benefits. The intake worker, a veteran himself, writes the man s name on a yellow legal pad which is the legal services intake form and tells him to have a seat. THE BAR ASSOCIATION OF SAN FRANCISCO SAN FRANCISCO ATTORNEY 29

With close to 150,000 soldiers presently serving in those two countries and more on the way the nonprofit launched in March the Iraq Veteran Project.

2 THE NEXT WAVE: IRAQ AND AFGHANISTAN VETS Swords to Plowshares is the one-stop shop for veterans. While its client base is almost 50 percent Vietnam veterans, the nonprofit is preparing for the next wave of vets from Iraq and Afghanistan. With close to 150,000 soldiers presently serving in those two countries and more on the way the nonprofit launched in March the Iraq Veteran Project. Grants from the Richard & Rhoda Goldman Fund, the Walter & Elise Haas Fund, the San Francisco Foundation, and individual contributions mean the nonprofit can begin now rather than waiting for the deluge to determine what, exactly, the needs of this population will be. Unlike the group s other funding, which comes from the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the private grants allow the organization to provide legal services to vets who are not homeless. We ll soon have another generation of combat vets, and we want to determine the issues they are facing and identify the gaps in services and advocate for policies on their behalf, says Amy Fairweather, director of the Iraq Veteran Project. One obvious need is legal services: the Department of Veteran Affairs currently has a backlog of 400, ,000 cases and a one to two year wait for disability benefits and it hasn t even begun to see claims from Iraq and Afghanistan vets because the majority of soldiers have yet to be discharged from service. With this new wave of vets, the hope is that we intervene much earlier, so thirty years from now we don t have déjà vu all over again, says Elinor Roberts, director of legal services at Swords to Plowshares. THE LEGAL TEAM Founded in 1974, Sword to Plowshares provides direct services to more than 1,200 homeless and lowincome veterans each year. Whatever the vets need, the nonprofit seems to offer it: mental health counseling, temporary housing, regular meals, job training, job referrals, and free legal assistance and representation. A long-standing Civil War era law prohibits vets from paying an attorney more than $10 to represent them before the Department of Veteran Affairs. Because of the ban, Swords to Plowshares, which provides free legal services, is one of the few organizations that specializes in this area of law. Moreover, the four attorney and one paralegal team is very good at what it does: it wins 90 percent of its cases. In 2003, fifty-six veterans collectively won $1,647,306 in retroactive financial benefits from the VA; the average award was $29,416. With the recent grant funding, the legal team is poised to do more: the nonprofit hired two more attorneys, a paralegal, and outreach staff and will have the capacity to double its caseload from 300 to 600 a year. There are four parts to a VA claim: (1) whether a disability exists; (2) whether the disability is servicerelated; (3) the effective date of the claim; and (4) if the disability is service-connected, what percentage of the disability is due to service. It s not a hugely complicated legal practice, and the legal issues aren t sexy, says Roberts, but it s very important. In fact, a great deal is at stake: if a vet is 100 percent disabled, a successful claim for VA benefits amounts to $30,000, tax-free, a year. It s one of the most generous government benefits you can get, says Roberts. 30 SUMMER 2007

Through a grant from HUD, the Swords to Plowshare legal team collaborates with the Homeless Advocacy Project (HAP), a part of The Bar Association of San Francisco s Volunteer Legal Services Program

3 Through a grant from HUD, the Swords to Plowshare legal team collaborates with the Homeless Advocacy Project (HAP), a part of The Bar Association of San Francisco s Volunteer Legal Services Program (VLSP), to serve homeless vets. The way the work is divided between the two organizations is simple: Swords to Plowshares does VA representation, and HAP does the non-varelated legal issues, such as social security insurance benefits, divorce, and eviction prevention. Many times, both projects are working with the same client, says Teresa Friend, VLSP deputy director and managing attorney of HAP. Someone may be entitled to VA benefits but have a warrant from twenty years ago. If appropriate, we d help them get rid of the warrant so they can get the benefits. Or maybe they are entitled to VA benefits, but because of the backlog, it takes a while for them to receive benefits, so we get them on SSI. Friend, too, is preparing for the next wave of vets. My guess is that we re going to see Iraq vets for a long time. THE IRAQ VETERAN PROJECT While the wave of new vets has not yet hit, several aspects of the Iraq war are already known. According to Fairweather, so far there has been a high incidence of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and traumatic brain injuries. Posttraumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury are the signature wounds of the Iraq war, says Fairweather. PTSD is prevalent because of the repeated deployments and high rates of exposure to trauma. At present 50 percent of the approximately 140,000 troops are serving their second tour of duty, and another 25 percent are on their third or even fourth tour. Symptoms of PTSD run a wide spectrum, including loss of long-term memory, difficulty with concentration, anger-management problems, antisocial behavior, inability to maintain connections with people, and inability to secure and maintain employment. As a result, homelessness is happening quicker for these vets than was the case with Vietnam THE BAR ASSOCIATION OF SAN FRANCISCO SAN FRANCISCO ATTORNEY 31

4 vets, says Fairweather. For Vietnam vets, it took nine to twelve years for conditions to deteriorate to the point of homelessness; Iraq and Afghanistan vets are seeking housing services just months after their return. Troops and new veterans continue to be exposed to every significant risk factor known to contribute to homelessness, says Fairweather. The nonprofit s experience with Vietnam vets who suffered from PTSD shows that the earlier treatment is begun the more likely a person can control, and thus cope with, the symptoms. With early intervention, the vets can learn when the symptoms are happening and how to engage in therapies and activities that will mitigate the symptoms, says Fairweather. Given the importance of early intervention, ideally there would be no wait for a vet to receive his or her VA benefits. Unfortunately, that is not the case. According to Roberts, the amount of time it takes for the VA to decide an initial claim is one to two years. If the case goes to the Board of Veteran Appeals, it can take four to five years. For someone who is homeless, that s incomprehensible, she says. But with the Swords to Plowshares legal team s experience, Roberts says, their clients suffer less from delays. We know the people at the VA. We know who to call and what branch to shake to get something done. In assisting Iraq and Afghanistan vets, one big issue for the legal team is locating military records. Because this war has relied on reservists, the National Guard, and the Individual Ready Reserve, military records are all over the place, says Roberts. The records are critical: they detail medical history while in the service, soldiers specialties, where they served, whether they were in combat, and the nature of the combat. These records are especially important if someone has PTSD, says Roberts. You ll need to prove someone underwent a traumatic event such as a combatrelated incident or saw someone die or was subject to repeated shelling. The Iraq Project is also engaged in advocacy. The information we glean from families and vets helps us 32 SUMMER 2007

5 develop legislation and testify about the issues, says Fairweather. Last year, for example, Swords to Plowshares worked on a state bill that prevented county mental health services from denying services to eligible vets based on their status. The bill was passed into law, the California Veterans Mental Health Services Act of 2006, which became effective January 1, In November, the Iraq Veterans Project also organized testimony for the Department of Defense (DOD) task force on mental health. We d heard stories of anti depressants being doled out, and then troops were being sent back onto the battlefield without any kind of proper clinical oversight, says Fairweather. The hearing was a result of Senator Barbara Boxer s amendment to the 2006 defense appropriations bill, which required DOD to conduct hearings regarding mental health within the armed services. The first week the Iraq Veteran Project launched, Swords to Plowshares served a handful of Iraq vets. What did they need? To secure their disability benefits from the VA, says Roberts. With this new funding, we can serve these vets without waiting until they become homeless. And as they wait for their benefits, we can improve their quality of life with our other services. The earlier treatment is begun the more likely a person can control, and thus cope with, the symptoms. With early intervention, the vets can learn when the symptoms are happening and how to engage in therapies and activities that will mitigate the symptoms. Nina Schuyler is a lawyer whose first novel, The Painting, was published in She is currently working on her second novel. THE BAR ASSOCIATION OF SAN FRANCISCO SAN FRANCISCO ATTORNEY 33

Representing veterans in the battle for benefits

Representing veterans in the battle for benefits Reprinted with permission of TRIAL (September 2006) Copyright The Association of Trial Lawyers of America TRIAL Protecting those who serve September 2006 Volume 42, Issue 9 Representing veterans in the