Connecticut Veteran's Legal Center ("CVLC") deeply impacts the lives of veterans through free legal services and fights against systemic barriers for collective impact. CVLC's mission specifically focuses on providing free legal assistance to veterans who are in recovery from homelessness, mental illness, and substance abuse and serves clients through a Medical-Legal Partnership model in which they partner with Veterans Administration Hospitals (“the VA”) and other connected providers to provide holistic support for veterans alongside their clinicians.
One of the systemic barriers that veterans face revolves around their discharge status and how it can affect the benefits that they are eligible for. Sarah Dlugoszewski has been assisting CVLC referrals who have received an "Other than Honorable" status due to alleged misconduct attributable to post-traumatic stress disorder ("PTSD"). By getting the discharge status changed, these veterans will have greater access to health care to treat injuries that are a result of their military service.
In one case, Sarah is assisting a veteran of the Navy who immigrated to the US as a young man and dreamed of becoming a pilot. Instead, he was stationed as an airman on a flight deck - a place the Navy itself brands the most dangerous workplace in the military - and later worked in an armory. The work took both a physical and mental toll on the Navy veteran, and he was discharged as a result of a failed drug screen after a single use of cannabis to self-medicate his physical and psychiatric symptoms. In another case, Sarah is assisting a veteran of the Army who enlisted before he even turned 18. The Army veteran was almost immediately deployed to Iraq in 2004, at the beginning of the Iraq War, and served for 13 consecutive months where he was exposed to near-constant combat trauma. Upon returning to the U.S., the veteran received orders just a week later that he would be returning to the post he had just left. After an application for a planned educational transition was denied, the veteran panicked and left the base to return home very briefly before turning himself in for going AWOL.
In both cases, the veterans have been diagnosed with service-connected PTSD at the time of their one instance of misconduct in an otherwise commendable service record. Sarah emphasizes that the service-connected diagnosis and discharge status really go hand in hand: “So many U.S. veterans suffer from combat-related PTSD, and the military, in general, has expanded its understanding of the manifestation of PTSD in its veterans such that the various branches are now willing to take a second look at 'Other than Honorable' and 'Dishonorable' discharges that more than likely only occurred because of a particular veteran’s PTSD. This expanded mindset and the resulting upgrade of discharge statuses has opened the door for many veterans to a suite of benefits they desperately need and rightfully earned.”
Sarah explains that she enjoys doing this type of work because it is a different type of legal writing that incorporates a story-driven narrative about each individual veteran coupled with the legal argument for their status change. She adds that it's a great opportunity for associates to get involved in cases that allow them a sense of autonomy and strategic decision making while receiving plenty of training and oversight support from CVLC. Be on the lookout for more training opportunities with CVLC this coming fall!
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