Helping veterans with mental illness overcome civil legal issues: Collaboration between a veterans affairs psychosocial rehabilitation center and a nonprofit legal center.

Abstract

This article describes the collaboration between a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) community-based psychosocial rehabilitation center and a nonprofit legal center that primarily addresses the civil legal issues of veterans who have mental illness and/or are homeless. The legal center is located on-site at the VA psychosocial rehabilitation center and serves veterans who receive VA mental health treatment and other social services. Once veterans establish contact with the legal center and authorize the release of their health information, legal center staff members work closely with VA clinicians to help veterans address legal issues that may be obstacles to recovery. Development of this collaboration is described, along with the legal center's funding, clientele, and operations. The most common types of civil legal matters the legal center handles are also briefly described. Experiences of the legal center suggest that professional aid for civil legal problems provided within VA facilities may be beneficial for veterans and warrants empirical study.