Has there been recent local media coverage about your legal aid work on behalf of veterans? If not, we want to help you make that happen soon.
We know of at least five JusticeVoices network members this summer who used the news hook of the Veterans Administration’s latest release of data about veteran homelessness to place an opinion piece highlighting their work and the importance of access to civil legal aid. Media interest in this issue will rise again in the run-up to Veterans Day (November 11), and editors will make their coverage plans early. So it’s not too soon to prepare your pitch for a news story or op-ed!
Central to your pitch should be the real-life story of a veteran who exemplifies what it means to have a life-changing legal problem, and how civil legal aid can make a difference. Such a story is the emotional heart of Mike O’Connor’s recent op-ed for the Rockford (IL) Register Star, and two such stories illuminate Renee Plummer’s strong piece for the New Hampshire Business Review. In Miami’s homeless veterans need legal assistance. You can help them get it, Brittney Horton highlights how Legal Services of Greater Miami helped a Vietnam-era veteran obtain Supplemental Security Income. For an earlier example for national media, highlighting the importance of medical-legal partnerships for veterans, see this op-ed for the Washington Post.
Please alert us by September 17 if you would like our help with developing a pitch or writing and placing an op-ed pegged to Veterans Day. Contact us at team@voicesforciviljustice.org.