How Legal Aid Society helps Veterans in our Community

Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands’ (LAS) eight offices serve as a gateway for veterans across Middle Tennessee in need of civil legal assistance. Over 450,000 veterans live in the Middle Tennessee area and 9% of Tennessee’s adult population are U.S. Military veterans.  LAS has developed partnerships with Operation Stand Down, Veterans Court, and Metro Homelessness Commission to identify civil legal needs for veterans across Middle Tennessee. Based on these partnerships, we have been able to identify a set of common legal issues that veterans face.

Many veterans experience physical and mental health concerns, lack income, are involved with the criminal justice system; and all of these things together harm their ability to get and maintain housing.

HUD estimates that approximately 757 Tennessee veterans are homeless, and more than 67,000 Tennessee veterans live in homes with one or more major problems of quality, crowding, or cost. According to the Housing Assistance Council, housing problems is one of the most significant issues among veterans.

Since 2018, LAS helped more than 420 veterans and their family members with a range of legal problems. LAS works in conjunction with Operation Stand Down to host weekly free legal clinics for veterans across Middle Tennessee. These clinics provide the opportunity to speak one on one with a free lawyers to identify and address civil legal issues. Today, we take a moment to recognize all the people who have died while serving in the United States Armed Forces.