Houston Bar Association President Travis J. Sales announces Veteran’s Initiative

In response to the unmet need in Harris County, newly installed Houston Bar Association President Travis J. Sales announced plans to significantly expand the deliver of legal services to veterans utilizing Houston Volunteer Lawyers Program as the vehicle. Harris County is home to the second largest population of veterans of any county in the United States. There are roughly 4000 homeless veterans in the Houston area. Two semi-permanent housing units (the DeGeorge at Union Station and the USVETS at Midtown Terrace) provide housing to homeless, physically and mentally disabled, and/or recovering impaired/addicted veterans. There are significant numbers of VFW and American Legion Halls in the Houston area. Large numbers of veterans will be returning home in the next few years. This project is designed to provide expanded access to pro bono legal services to veterans in Harris County. HVLP will provide a full time, experienced staff attorney to work with volunteer attorneys to provide pro bono legal services to veterans. HVLP will expand the existing once-a-month clinic at the VA Hospital to every Friday afternoon. The staff attorney and volunteers will also provide clinic advice and counseling at DeGeorge, Midtown Terrace, and to-be-determined VFW and American Legion Halls. Finally, HVLP will provide attorneys at Muster and Stand Downs to assist returning veterans. The project also expands the poverty level cut-off for services to 300% for veterans. A full range of legal services will be provided, including family, tax, consumer, housing and bankruptcy. HVLP will also assist with disability benefits claims, working in conjunction with ExxonMobil's efforts.

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