«This means that veterans can now get relief because the judge approved the settlement between veterans. and the military,» Adam Henderson told LAW `23, part of the Veterans Legal Services Clinic. «Essentially, the judge said that everything in the regulation was fair, reasonable and appropriate and that this regulation is now in force. The final settlement is ready. Steve Kennedy, team leader of the Connecticut chapter of U.S. veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan, said, «This is a monumental shift in how we deal with bad paper dumps and mental health in general. This bill recognizes not only the impact of service-related mental illness on the characterization of discharge, but also the need for transitional support beyond mental health treatment to fully recover. If you suffer from PTSD, head trauma or military sexual trauma, you can now receive help with education, employment and housing so you can rebuild your life and reintegrate into the community. It`s huge, and I`m so proud of our state for leading the way in proper treatment of these veterans.
The clinic is representing Martin Johnson and Jane Doe in a statewide class action lawsuit on behalf of thousands of Air Force veterans. Johnson and Doe say the Air Force Dump Review Board discriminates against people with disabilities by ignoring the impact of their mental health on their behavior. The Connecticut chapter of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA-CT) fulfills IAVA`s mission to connect, unite, and empower post-9/11 veterans in the state. IAVA-CT is committed to ensuring that all Connecticut veterans – including those discharged from the Army under less honorable conditions – are welcomed into their homes and continue to receive effective support and care in their communities. More recently, IAVA-CT has proposed and advocated for legislation to ensure equal access to benefits for state veterans. The clinic represented an Air Force veterinarian in the 1970s who had been denied medical services for PTSD-related issues. The Connecticut House of Representatives unanimously passed Senate Bill 284 on May 8, 2018, sending the legislation to the governor`s office. The bill will extend benefits for state veterans to former military personnel who were discharged from the U.S. military under conditions other than honorable conditions and who suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), traumatic brain injury or sexual trauma while on duty.
Once the bill is signed, the bill would make Connecticut the first state to open its benefits to less than honorably released veterans suffering from trauma. In a victory for Yale Law School`s Veterans Legal Services Clinic, a federal court on April 26 granted final approval of a settlement between the U.S. military and veterans across the country with less-than-honorable releases. 2. In March 2018, Tyson Manker and the National Veterans Council for Legal Redress (NVCLR) filed a national class action lawsuit on behalf of thousands of less-than-honorably released Navy and Marine Corps veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and related illnesses from the Iraqi and Afghan era. Students at the Veterans Legal Services Clinic researched and drafted legislation to expand veterans` access to several state entertainment programs. In the fall of 2016, Vietnam Veterans of America hired the Veterans Legal Services Clinic to determine whether President Barack Obama could grant presidential pardons to veterans with dishonorable releases. The clinic represents William Cowles, an Army National Guard veteran who was honorably released but illegally denied his medical retirement.
The clinic represents a disabled Vietnam veteran who received a Bronze Star with bravery device in his application to improve his release status and receive VA benefits. In passing Special Law No. 13-5, the General Assembly created a task force to determine how state licensing processes can be streamlined to help Connecticut veterans transition from the military to the workforce. «I am pleased that this important bill has passed the House,» said Veterans Affairs Committee Co-Chair Representative Jack Hennessy (D-Bridgeport). «The Veterans Affairs Committee heard hours of testimony from veterans` organizations, health care providers and veterans in Connecticut with anything but honorable discharges.