Ep. 9 -The Legal Aid Society Advocates For Veterans and It’s Free! Attorney's Melva Rozier and Brittany Horton From The Legal Aid Society Of Palm Beach County Explain How It Works.

Discover the unsung heroes of the legal battlefield as I, Scott McLean, sit down with Melva Rozier and Brittany Horton from the Legal Aid Society of Palm Beach County. These legal champions are not just attorneys; they're lifelines to veterans in dire need of advocacy and support. Melva, known affectionately as the "veterans whisperer," alongside Brittany, a military spouse turned attorney, provide a candid look into the transformative power of legal aid, especially in the prevention of veteran suicides. Their stories are a testament to the strength found in the intersection of legal expertise and compassion.

The discussion takes an emotional turn as we uncover the tales of veterans like Mr. Rico Andrews, a Navy veteran on the brink of homelessness, whose life was turned around through the intervention of the Veterans Advocacy Project. The conversation serves as a crucial reminder: Never count yourself out. Veterans who have faced denials or have not been deployed are encouraged to reclaim the benefits they've sacrificed for. This episode is a rallying cry for veterans to stand up for what they've earned, with Melva and Brittany leading the charge.

In our final segment, we shine a spotlight on the indispensable networks that support our veterans beyond the courtroom. From housing assistance provided by Stand Down House to the comprehensive services at the West Palm Beach VA clinic, we guide veterans through a maze of resources designed to honor their service. And for our fellow nonprofits eager to join the fight for our veterans' rights, this invitation is for you. Stay tuned for future episodes where we continue to forge paths for veterans seeking the justice and respect they have earned through their service.

Transcript

Scott McLean: 0:22

Welcome to the podcast. I'm Scott McLean. My guests this week are Melva Rozier and Brittany Horton from the Legal Aid Society of Palm Beach County. Melva is the manager of the Veterans Project and Brittany is a staff attorney. This interview took place in their office in West Palm Beach, Florida. Enjoy. How are you guys doing today?

Melva Rozier: 0:45

We're doing well. Good to be here.

Scott McLean: 0:48

So, Melva, tell us a little about yourself.

Melva Rozier: 0:51

What's probably relevant to your listeners is that I serve on active duty in the Army. I was a paralegal for seven years and I left the Army after serving as a paralegal and had the opportunity to go to law school, and I have been an attorney for almost 21 years now. I've been with the Legal Aid Society of Palm Beach County for nearly eight years.

Scott McLean: 1:16

Brittany.

Britteny Horton: 1:17

So I've been practicing law for about eight years. I graduated from Nova Southeastern University in the Davie area and all of my legal work has been with a legal aid organization focusing on veterans.

Scott McLean: 1:32

So Melva, I'll start with you. I know legal aid covers a lot of bases. How did the both of you get into working with a veteran?

Melva Rozier: 1:41

You're absolutely right. The Legal Aid Society of Palm Beach County has more than 26 projects within our organization. The Veterans Advocacy Project came about for me because every time a client would come into the lobby and start, as everyone says, spouting off letters that they need to get a copy of their DD-214 or that they had an MOS and they were discharged. The office really wasn't able to accurately identify their legal issues and to provide services specific for veterans.

Melva Rozier: 2:15

So at some point I became the veterans whisperer and everyone would come and say hey there's someone out in the lobby speaking your language, come talk to them, and that's kind of how it happened. I was very fortunate to be working under Takesha Miles, who manages the housing projects here at League Late, and she gave me the liberty and leeway to identify some grants for veterans, and our grant writer, noelle Smith, was successful in being able to write to a few organizations to help to start our veterans advocacy projects.

Scott McLean: 2:51

Brittany.

Britteny Horton: 2:53

So I actually kind of fell into this work while I was in law school trying to figure out how to pay for my student loans, and so I was like, oh, I'll go into the military and be an attorney there. So I did attempt to go into JAG for both the Navy and the Army. Unfortunately, I did become medically disqualified. So at that time I was in clinic at Nova Southeastern in their veterans clinic and I kind of just fell in love with the veteran population. It is a different population than non-military members.

Scott McLean: 3:24

I truly enjoy it and you're a military spouse, correct non-military members. I truly enjoy it and you're a military spouse, correct?

Britteny Horton: 3:29

Yes, I am a military spouse.

Scott McLean: 3:32

So, Melva, although you're not part of the VA, suicide prevention is the big push now, which it should be. It should have always been. I know you're familiar with how they operate. Can you speak on the VA's public health approach to suicide prevention?

Melva Rozier: 3:48

Well, I'm going to let Brittany address that, but what I'll say is just in terms of veterans' suicide rates, they're generally 57% higher than the civilian population. So more recently the VA has taken the stance and recognized that legal issues and having soldiers and veterans with legal issues leads to a much higher rate of depression in our soldiers and consequently increases suicide rate. So the VA has most recently identified and provided specific grants that organizations such as ourselves have received to address veterans' legal needs.

Britteny Horton: 4:30

So the VA has come out with several regulations recently, one of which is an emergency services regulation where, even if you are not eligible for VA services, they will still help you with mental health treatment for up to a certain amount of time. So if you are a veteran and you're in crisis or you feel like you're going into crisis, definitely go into somewhere, get the treatment, let them know that you are a veteran and the VA will help take care of those services. Also, recently the VA has changed their regulations on who is eligible for the VA and their services. Anyone other than honorable or bad conduct discharge have to get what's called a character of service determination. What that means is the VA determines whether you're eligible for VA services or not. Now they changed the regulation to where there's only four regulatory bars from the VA. They change the regulation to where there's only four regulatory bars from the VA, and those four are you've accepted the discharge in lieu of a general court-martial.

Britteny Horton: 5:33

You are a spy. There's a moral turpitude issue that one's a little bit gray on what they actually mean by that, still trying to figure that one out. And then there's the willful and persistent misconduct, which is just you doing an issue over and, over and over again. But you can always overcome those barriers, which is why it's important to make sure you either get veteran service officer or VSO, or you speak to an attorney or you speak to somebody who actually does this on the regular, so that way they can make sure that you get the services and the Access that you need, yes the access that you need.

Melva Rozier: 6:13

One of the other things that the VA has been very good about is they have created a dedicated suicide hotline for veterans. That number, if you're out there and you're listening, is 988. It's a national hotline. There is someone answering the phone 24 hours to address veterans who are at risk for suicide.

Scott McLean: 6:32

Are there other legal aid societies in every county in Florida? How does it go for someone that might be listening in another part of Florida or another part of the country?

Melva Rozier: 6:44

So what I'll say is if you're a veteran and you need legal assistance, there are several ways that you can address it. If you're applying for solely VA benefits, every county has a veteran service office. They provide free assistance to veterans applying for benefits, helping you with discharge upgrades. They have a whole bevy of service to connect veterans with the VA. Secondarily, every county in Palm Beach County has a legal aid organization. You have organizations such as ours that is primarily grant funded, and then you have other organizations that are funded through the state Legal Services Corporation. So there's definitely a wide variety of ways for veterans to access. They can go on the VA and just look for VA accredited attorneys. If I could give veterans anything, it's that there is free access, there's free legal assistance. Don't pay the pension postures, as we call them, to deliver services to you that we could do for you for no assistance.

Melva Rozier: 7:42

Most of the programs don't have income requirements. There's no cap. Our program specifically right now we have three different grants that we're operating under. One is focused on veterans who are at risk for homelessness or homeless. Within that program we're really looking for female veterans. We need to serve more females, so we're looking for you out there in Palm Beach County. Please come and see us. We are looking to service more veterans in the Glades Also, there's a disparity in service due to transportation issues, with vets connecting with their benefits out there. So either through veteran service offices, your VFWs also provide free benefit assistance to veterans.

Britteny Horton: 8:24

You can also look up your local legal aid to see if they offer any veteran specific issues, especially if it is not a VA or a military issue. What I mean by that is a lot of veterans that have come in tend to have family law issues, whether that's a child custody case, child support issue, a divorce. So if you look up your local legal aid, you can give them a call and they can hopefully point you in the right direction.

Scott McLean: 8:53

if it's not something that they can assist with, so, Melva, can you give the listeners a real-life example of how legal services have made a difference in a veteran's life?

Melva Rozier: 9:04

Absolutely. We have served over 300 veterans within our project in the last year. So one of the most high impact projects that we do is funded through the Mission United grant with the United Way and that is that we go to the VA monthly and we conduct a veteran's clinic and we screen veterans for a variety of issues. One of the cases that came through that clinic was a veteran whose wife passed away. He had been ordered to pay alimony forever and it was being deducted out of his social security. So it was $700 a month that was being deducted from that veteran and his spouse had been deceased. For almost a year he had been working with Social Security directly to terminate the alimony. However, the Social Security office would not cease the alimony without a court order, so we had to petition the court to have the alimony terminated. So for him it was an immediate impact. Having an extra $700 a month in this economy was really substantial for the veteran and made a long-term difference in his daily life and quality of life.

Scott McLean: 10:13

How did he find you guys?

Melva Rozier: 10:14

The VA has done a wonderful job of putting out blasts to veterans about our clinic. They advertise within the VA. We're on the billboard, and so he found us either through a social worker or through the VA advertisement.

Scott McLean: 10:26

Well, I'm going to do my best with this podcast to put a blast out there, and so he found us either through a social worker or through the VA advertisement. Well, I'm going to do my best with this podcast to put a blast out there. No-transcript.

Britteny Horton: 10:37

Yes, Mr Rico Andrews is a current client of ours.

Melva Rozier: 10:42

He's authorized us to share his story.

Britteny Horton: 10:44

Yes, he has authorized us to share his story. He's a Navy veteran and he had some struggles while in the Navy and the VA is currently saying that he's only eligible for certain health care. They are not allowing him to be paid. However, we have filed appeals and we've taken it higher and we are getting him actual money. So he's homeless, doesn't have anything, and now we're actually getting him actual funds to where he is not homeless anymore and he can be housed and we are helping him get the necessary treatment that he does need for his various conditions and because of that, he is no longer on a rapid downward spiral. So there is that 0%, where they will just treat you but your rating or the condition isn't high enough to get compensation.

Britteny Horton: 11:46

There is that, but there's also what the VA calls humanitarian care, and that's where they treat you for the condition, but they're saying you're not eligible for payment, so that one's a little different. And then we have to go in and kind of argue with the VA and tell them that they're wrong in terms of not paying the veteran when the veteran should actually be getting paid.

Melva Rozier: 12:08

By paid, you mean establishing a disability claim for the veteran.

Britteny Horton: 12:13

Well, either establishing it or they've already established it, and the VA says, yes, you do have this disability. The military caused it. However, you're not eligible for compensation, so you're not eligible to receive any funds for that. So that's where we step in and go no, no, no, this veteran actually is eligible for the compensation. Please give them the money that they are due.

Scott McLean: 12:33

That's important information that a lot of veterans probably don't know about.

Britteny Horton: 12:38

No, and that's actually one of the biggest issues is the knowledge that they don't have, and part of that just causes the downward spiral because they ignore something, or something happens, or they get a letter and they all of a sudden don't know what to do with it, and so the issue becomes compounding. They become homeless or they get their car repossessed and they don't know what to do, and with the legal services that we're able to offer, we can help them stabilize and help try to dig them out of that hole that they've created for themselves.

Melva Rozier: 13:11

Yeah, and then we also have veterans who applied for benefits long ago. They applied when they first got out of the military. My grandfather was a prime example. He's a Korean War vet, applied for benefits as soon as he got out, but he was working and they said no. And you know, when you're coming home from war you want to hear yes. You want to hear yes, you want to feel that you are getting the services that you earned.

Melva Rozier: 13:35

And for a lot of vets they're discouraged and they go years without accessing their VA benefits. And you know there hasn't traditionally been letters going out saying hey, by the way, there's a new program. Hey, now there's the PAC Act and you can apply because you were exposed to Agent Orange. And so the VA is coming around and they're making efforts to reconnect veterans who tried previously. And that would be our message is if the VA said no prior, we want you to come back. We want you to give the VA another try. We want you to give us the opportunity to try and see what you may be eligible for, because you earn those benefits. No one gave them to you and if you don't use them, they're not going to anyone else, so you may as well try it doesn't cost anything I do want to talk about.

Britteny Horton: 14:21

Don't think that you don't deserve these because you didn't go overseas or you didn't get deployed. Do not think that that does not apply to you. You signed a blank check to the federal government, so these are things that you've earned by signing on that dotted line and signing that blank check. So please go out and apply for the VA benefits Again. As Melba said, they're not going anywhere. They're not going to anyone else. So just because you get it does not mean another veteran's not getting it. So please go get everything that you've deserved and that you signed on that blank line for.

Melva Rozier: 14:54

Absolutely. You didn't have to be on the front line to be in the benefit line. If I can say anything, that's probably the most prevailing issue that we find is that they don't feel like they deserve it, that they didn't do enough, that they came back physically whole, but obviously the vestiges of war are unseen. The exposure that the veterans have are just. It's a very unique sorority and fraternity of people who serve and we want them to get what they deserve.

Scott McLean: 15:22

That was me. For 20 plus years I was a first responder of security police in the Air Force multiple bases. I saw the worst of the worst. People think military installations are this everything is straight and nice and flowers in the yard. I saw the worst of the worst For 20 plus years. My attitude was let that money go to these kids coming back from the desert. But somebody told me after a conversation basically they said you have more issues than Sports Illustrated. Dude, you got some issues. Yeah, I went to the VA, started checking a lot of boxes in that questionnaire. Mm Mm Started saying now this answers a lot of questions.

Melva Rozier: 16:14

Yeah.

Scott McLean: 16:15

But I was that veteran that said I don't need it, let it go to somebody else, you know, but I needed it.

Melva Rozier: 16:24

Absolutely.

Scott McLean: 16:25

So that's a that's a true life story right there, Thank you. So let's talk about collaboration and advocacy. Who do you collaborate with? And we already know you're an advocate for the veterans and their needs.

Melva Rozier: 16:39

But as far as collaborations, we're very fortunate that Palm Beach County has such a positive attitude and reception and desire to serve veterans. So we have a bevy of partnerships. We have a partnership with the VA that allows us to go and conduct a clinic there every month. We have a wonderful relationship with the United Way Mission United, who funds a portion of our project, and we also work with Stand Down House and we provide legal services to veterans who are coming through their project, who are homeless and going through case management. So we're very fortunate to have those relationships. On top of those relationships, we have private pro bono attorneys that we work with. We have a partnership with the Carrier Corporation and they are so generous and host our veterans once a year.

Melva Rozier: 17:33

We provide wills. We've provided probably 75 to 100 wills for veterans and their family at their headquarters in Palm Beach Garden. So we're very fortunate to have generous partnerships, but we're always looking for more. We have a very large population of veterans in Palm Beach County and we need more staff, we need more assistance. All of our veterans come to us for one issue and we end up finding at least probably four different legal issues for each veteran that comes through our project. We have two attorneys and two paralegals and over 60,000 veterans in Palm Beach County, so the need is still there. We're always looking for additional partnerships and grants to allow us to serve the population of veterans in Palm Beach County greater.

Scott McLean: 18:20

You mentioned Stand Down House.

Britteny Horton: 18:23

Stand Down House is a organization through the Faith, love and Hope charity. Stand Down House gets money from the VA through their supportive services for veterans and their families. That's a grant that the VA gives them and it helps the veteran with if they're late on their rent, if they're homeless. It helps them pay first lesson secured to help them stay housed or to help them get into a new place. So we actually do refer some veterans over there as well. I had particularly had a client come in through the VA clinic who received an eviction notice. So I went ahead and advocated with the landlord and was able to negotiate some things and because of Stand Down House and their ability to pay the past year rent we were able to keep that veteran housed. So it is a wonderful program that does offer money and services to the veterans and their families to keep them housed.

Melva Rozier: 19:26

No, they've helped with the multitude of our veterans at this point. They have wonderful case managers and they do a really good job helping our veterans avoid homelessness.

Scott McLean: 19:38

So you mentioned grants Grants are very important Money I always say this every episode. It's the thing that people don't really want to talk about.

Britteny Horton: 19:46

Oh.

Scott McLean: 19:46

I'm a nonprofit. We don't need money. We all need money.

Melva Rozier: 19:51

No money, no mission.

Scott McLean: 19:52

That's right. That's right. It's the fuel that runs the engine.

Melva Rozier: 19:55

Absolutely.

Scott McLean: 19:56

So you work with grants. Is there any other? Donations, sponsors, fundraisers, is there any?

Melva Rozier: 20:05

is there another way that you guys generate revenue To benefit our veterans and I think there's some sort of 5K run that the Young Lawyers Association sponsors for veterans. But most of our fundraising is for our general revenue fund for the Legal Aid Society. But we are open. We are 100% grant funded but currently Right. But we welcome private donors and anyone who wants to assist us in serving our veterans.

Scott McLean: 20:41

Corporate sponsors.

Melva Rozier: 20:43

We'll take it all.

Scott McLean: 20:43

We'll take it all. That's right. That's right. Is there anything else you want to add?

Britteny Horton: 20:50

So if you want to get services from us, you can come to our clinic at the West Palm Beach VA. We're there the third Wednesday of the month between 10 am and 2 pm. You can also apply online. If you go to our website, thelegalaidpbcorg. On there it says click for services and you can apply right online and it'll come directly to us. We also have a. Our Veterans Advocacy Project has a hotline where you can call in. It's 561-655-8944, extension 366. Or you can also send us an email and we can reach back out to you. The email address is VAP legal aid, pbcorg and you can reach out there.

Britteny Horton: 21:41

Again. If you've received paperwork or something that you don't know what to do with, please come and see us. We can at least even if we can't help you because it's out of state or something, we can point you in the right direction. We can give you the referral. You're going to leave with something You're not going to leave in the same position that you came in with. So please stop running from the paperwork. I know it's terrifying and I know it's scary, but please stop running from it and please, please, please apply for the VA benefits that you rightfully earned Again. You signed a blank check to the federal government that you rightfully earned. Again, you signed a blank check to the federal government. This is the federal government saying we owe you, please take advantage of it. It's tax-free money. In this economy, everyone needs additional income.

Melva Rozier: 22:27

So please go get the benefits you rightfully earned, and we appreciate all questions from our veterans. There's no such thing as a dumb question. You have the opportunity to get information for the right price, which is nothing to you, so there's no reason at this point to be without, to do without and to have questions that are unanswered. We are here to serve the veterans of Palm Beach County and their family members.

Scott McLean: 22:54

Well, you're doing God's work in my eyes, especially with the staff limitations and the number of veterans that are out there that need help. I don't know how you do it, but I love that you do it.

Melva Rozier: 23:12

It's a labor of love. It's a labor of love, it's a labor of love, absolutely, and we really appreciate your podcast and people like you, scott, who are out trying to get the word out to serve our veterans better. Thank, you?

Britteny Horton: 23:24

Yes, thank you so much.

Scott McLean: 23:25

This is my pleasure. This is my pleasure and just like every other episode before this, I learned something. Now I have the knowledge to spread to another veteran, or 10 or 20.

Melva Rozier: 23:38

Hopefully some females. So.

Scott McLean: 23:41

OK, before we yeah, let's touch on on the female veteran population.

Melva Rozier: 23:47

We know that there are women out there who were exposed to sexual trauma, in particular during their military experience, to sexual trauma in particular during their military experience, and the VA has done a very good job of streamlining the process, not victimizing the victim any longer, and making access to those benefits a much more efficient process. So we want our women veterans to come not just to do sexual trauma cases but to just do a benefit checkup to make sure that whatever they're entitled to they're able to get, and we're just not getting the number of females in our project that we'd like to see and serve.

Scott McLean: 24:27

I love that term a benefit checkup. That's a beautiful term right there. I've never heard that. I think more veterans need to do a benefit checkup absolutely can I steal that?

Melva Rozier: 24:40

please do I will do the programs change, the eligibility changes, the process changes, and so come check us out, let's see what you have and what you can get I'm gonna put that on social media today.

Scott McLean: 24:54

Yeah, go right ahead.

Britteny Horton: 24:55

I mean, as Melvin said, they are changing the regulations. I mentioned one earlier that they just recently changed. The VA is constantly changing, dod regulations are constantly changing. So come and see us and get the benefit checkup, see what you qualify for, see what benefits we can get you in for. And I have noticed, with some of my friends particularly, that the female veterans are like oh, I am getting whatever just because I am a female. That is not something that we emphasize here. Everyone's treated the same. We do do what we can to help each individual with whatever needs they have. So you're not going to be put in a pigeonhole of. This square fits everyone. So whatever the need is, whatever it happens to be, please just come in and see us and we treat everyone equally and as an actual individual.

Scott McLean: 25:51

God's work and, as a veteran, I thank you I thank you, oh thank you, we thank you. I'm going to do a benefit checkup, please do I will, please do I will.

Scott McLean: 26:03

All right, so I'm just going to jump right into my outro. Well, thank you for listening. If you like this podcast, please share it. If you want to get in touch with the podcast, you can email me at vetsconnectpodcast at gmailcom. If you're a nonprofit that would like to be on the podcast, email me at vetsconnectpodcast at gmailcom. And well, we built another bridge today. Very informative episode and I think, as I say to everybody else, you'll be on again. Thank you.

Scott McLean: 26:37

I will definitely have another episode with you guys, probably two, three. We'll do a Legal Aid Society checkup episode.

Britteny Horton: 26:47

We can do that.

Scott McLean: 26:49

And with that you will hear me next Monday.