By Abigail Causer, Managing Attorney at the Public Interest Law Initiative (PILI) & Nicole Massey, Veterans Attorney and Pro Bono Coordinator at Land of Lincoln Legal Aid

In Illinois, there are over 800,000 veterans, active service members, National Guard members, and dependents of deployed service members. For people in these groups, access to civil legal services is highly sought after, and many cannot afford it. The 2023 survey by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs' Project CHALENG (Community Homelessness Assessment, Local Education, and Networking Groups) identified several unmet needs for legal assistance in eight areas: credit issues and debt collection, expunging criminal records, family law and tax issues, child support issues, outstanding warrants and fines, discharge upgrade appeals, and financial guardianship.

The nation’s largest single funder of civil legal aid for low-income Americans, the Legal Service Corporation (LSC), outlined in its 2021 Report of the Veterans Task Force that civil legal problems – ranging from threatened evictions to other than honorable discharges from the military – are among the greatest obstacles to a veteran’s health, housing, stability, and productivity. Although veterans make up 5% of the U.S. population, they represent 11% of adults experiencing homelessness in the country today, with nearly 40,000 veterans lacking shelter on any given night. The unique risk factors for veterans, such as military culture, exposure to combat, and mental and behavioral health challenges, impact their ability to transition from military to civilian life, increasing the likelihood of encountering various legal issues and needs that the VA cannot directly address.

To address the legal needs of veterans and ensure their access to legal services, the LSC Veterans Task Force Report recommends, among other initiatives, that law firms and corporate law departments collaborate with organizations already serving veterans to enhance existing resources for them.

In this context, the Illinois Armed Forces Legal Aid Network (IL-AFLAN) and the Public Interest Law Initiative (PILI) are notable examples. A project of the Illinois Equal Justice Foundation, IL-AFLAN offers a statewide free legal assistance hotline and a coordinated network of legal support services for military personnel, veterans, and their families. The legal issues most commonly addressed include housing, family, and consumer law matters, as well as VA benefits, appeals, and discharge upgrades. Over 20 organizations are part of the IL-AFLAN network, including PILI.

Veterans or service members in need of assistance can call the IL-AFLAN hotline at (855) 452-3526. Every caller speaks with a lawyer at the hotline to receive brief advice. If extended representation is needed, the client is referred to one of the organizations within the IL-AFLAN network. 

Since 2017, over 23,000 people have received assistance. Over 500 clients did not experience homelessness as a result of assistance through the IL-AFLAN network, over 8 million dollars worth of benefits have been won for clients as a result of VA benefits appeals, and clients have received over 12 million dollars by acquiring benefits, preserving assets, and similar efforts. That’s not to mention the hundreds of family law issues resolved, wills and POAs drafted, guardianships completed, and many more services rendered. 

One of the many organizations involved in the network is the Public Interest Law Initiative (PILI). PILI helps to serve veterans, active military members, and their dependents statewide by connecting them with pro bono volunteers. While many cases are referred to traditional legal aid organizations like Land of Lincoln Legal Aid or Prairie State Legal Services, those who cannot be served by those organizations due to conflict of interest or sheer capacity are referred to PILI. 

PILI is always looking for pro bono volunteers interested in assisting veterans with a wide variety of civil legal issues in all 101 counties outside of Cook.

Get more information and register as a volunteer.

If you have any questions, please contact Managing Attorney Abigail Causer at acauser@pili.org. 

As we commemorate the 80th anniversary of D-Day and reflect on the sacrifices our service members make every day to defend our freedom, we encourage those in the legal community to make a comparatively small sacrifice of service by donating their time and advocacy. "Those involved in providing legal services to veterans are the only gateway for those veterans to gain access to committed and continued legal support," said General Jim Mattis (U.S. Marine Corps, Ret.).