Two WV attorneys to focus on helping veterans - WOWK 13 Charleston, Huntington WV News, Weather, Sports

Two WV attorneys to focus on helping veterans

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Two West Virginia attorneys will help veterans gain access to benefits and legal representation as part of the Equal Justice Works organization.

Equal Justice Works, a national nonprofit organization focused on expanding opportunities for law students and lawyers to pursue public interest careers, recently announced it received funding to award 40, one-year legal fellowships to attorneys.

According to a news release from Equal Justice Works, Americorps Legal Fellows will work in 14 states and the District of Columbia to provide legal services to underserved populations. Seventeen of the attorneys will focus on the growing crisis of homelessness and poverty among veterans.

Army veteran L.G. Corder will work at Legal Aid of West Virginia in Clarksburg to help veterans struggling with landlord-tenant disputes, home foreclosures and help them gain access to benefits.

In Martinsburg, Kristin Maun will work with Legal Aid to help veterans and their families who are homeless or facing the threat of homelessness.

"The number of veterans who are struggling with homelessness and poverty and unable to receive benefits is staggering, and the issues are often legal issues," said David Stern, executive director of Equal Justice Works. "Many veterans are returning from combat in Iraq and Afghanistan with undiagnosed traumatic brain injuries and post-traumatic stress disorder.  It has become a struggle for these service members to receive the benefits of which they are entitled."