MILITARY SPOUSE JD NETWORK FILLS THE JUSTICE GAP FOR MILITARY FAMILIES WITH NEW PROJECT
Military spouse attorneys support each other and the military community through Justice for Military Families, a program that will provide free legal services to military families
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – May 5, 2014
WASHINGTON- The Military Spouse JD Network, an international network of legal professionals who are military spouses, is again poised to demonstrate their support for the military community. Officially launching May 7, Justice for Military Families is the first national program to provide free legal assistance to military families.
“We have access to a group of people with very specified skills in our military spouse attorney members.” said Josie Beets, Pro Bono Director for the Military Spouse JD Network (MSJDN). “We wanted a way to provide our members with a way of serving the military community. When we looked for an existing national organization providing free legal help to military families, we couldn’t find one. So we started our own.”
While many pro bono programs exist at the national, state and local level to assist service members, there are few programs that serve the legal needs of their families, even though both face unique legal issues due to their service. With record unemployment and underemployment, only 34 percent of MSJDN members are working full time in a job requiring a law license. Justice for Military Families will provide these attorneys a way to keep current on the law in service to their community.
Funded by a grant from Newman’s Own Foundation, Justice for Military Families connects military families with legal needs with pro bono legal help from MSJDN’s network of military spouse attorneys. It is a pro bono program for military families by military families.
The first partner in this effort is Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS). MSJDN and TAPS are partnering through the Justice for Military Families project to fill the legal needs of families who have paid the ultimate price of freedom.
“TAPS has a proven track record of helping military families during the most difficult of times,” said MSJDN President Mary Reding. “It is our honor to be able to provide them with yet another tool to ease the burdens on these families.”
“We deeply appreciate the help and support that will be provided to surviving military families through the Military Spouse JD Network and its new project, Justice for Military Families,” said Bonnie Carroll, TAPS founder and military widow. “These military spouses who are attorneys understand the unique needs of the military community and we know they will be a supportive resource for many TAPS families.”
To attend the MSJDN Annual Reception on May 7 in Washington, D.C., visit msjdn2014reception.eventbrite.com. For more information about Justice for Military Families, contact Josie Beets at josie.beets@msjdn.org.
About the Military Spouse JD Network
The Military Spouse JD Network (MSJDN, www.msjdn.org) is an international network of legal professionals improving the lives of military families. MSJDN advocates for licensing accommodations for military spouses, including bar membership without additional examination. MSJDN includes military spouses and partners from all branches of the United States Military, both active duty and retired, and also includes legal and military organizations who support our mission. In 2013, the Military Spouse JD Foundation, the tax-exempt foundation of MSJDN, received a Newman’s Own Grant in support of its service efforts.
About TAPS
The Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS) is the national organization providing compassionate care for the families of America’s fallen military heroes and has offered support to more than 50,000 surviving family members of our fallen military and their caregivers since 1994. TAPS provides peer-based emotional support, grief and trauma resources, grief seminars and retreats for adults, Good Grief Camps for children, case work assistance, connections to community-based care, online and in-person support groups and a 24/7 resource and information helpline for all who have been affected by a death in the Armed Forces. Services are provided free of charge. For more information go to www.taps.org or call the toll-free TAPS resource and information helpline at 1.800.959.TAPS (8277).
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