At Legal Services Alabama we meet veterans where they are. Since March 2018, we’ve been helping veterans of low income across South Alabama with their civil legal needs. Tim Kingston, Mobile Regional Office Staff Attorney, meets with veterans the first Thursday of each month at the Mobile Office, located at 104 St. Francis Street, Suite 700.
In partnership with the VA Gulf Coast, Kingston stated the Mobile Office has held nearly 30 clinics, seeing roughly 138 veterans since the clinics began. Kingston also stated he receives at least two inquiries a week – almost 50 contacts, since early March.
For Kingston, meeting the legal needs of veterans is of utmost importance.
“The legal needs of Veterans are a core part of our mission at Legal Services Alabama,” Kingston said. “They are an underserved population, many of whose civil legal needs are directly related to their service to our country. Over the last six months, LSA has served a significant number of Veterans in South Alabama through our new Veterans’ Clinic, providing them ways to address needs ranging from upgrading their discharge, to helping them find and retain a home, to obtain the benefits they are entitled to as Veterans and as Alabama citizens, and many other legal services. As our Veterans’ Clinic continues to grow, we hope many more Veterans receive the very best legal services we can provide.”
David Neslen, Veterans Justice Outreach Specialist with the VA Gulf Coast, believes the partnership with LSA has “filled a need” in the community.
“Our VA providers are now able to refer Veterans who have noncriminal legal problems directly to Legal Services of Alabama,” Neslen said. “I feel confident that we have resources to assist our Veterans with criminal and noncriminal legal problems. I hope to continue to get the word out to the community and our Veterans that this resource is available.”
Jaffe Pickett, LSA Deputy Director, stated the success of the veterans’ clinic for Central Alabama (established May 2017) has opened the door for the partnership in Mobile and established plans for a Legal Veterans’ clinic in the Black Belt, through the Selma Regional Office.
“Funding for these important Veteran services is critical. We are using the ‘Meeting Veterans Where They Are’ motto for projects that provide support for our Veterans services, and we are committed to these partnerships that allow free legal services to Veterans,” Pickett said.
Low-income Veterans of South Alabama who are in need of free civil legal help, can visit the LSA Mobile Office, located at 104 St. Francis Street, Suite 700, the first Thursday of every month from 10 AM to 2 PM.
Services are also available to Veterans of Central Alabama every Wednesday of each month from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. onsite at two locations: The Central Alabama Veterans Healthcare System, located at 215 Perry Hill Road in Montgomery, AL (2nd & Fourth Wednesday), and the Veterans Hospital in Tuskegee, located at 2400 Hospital Road (1st, 3rd, and 5th Wednesday).
For more information about our veteran services, please visit our website: www.legalservicesalabama.org or Facebook.com/LegalServicesAlabama.
