Jillian B. Sadler

The Project

The Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles (LAFLA) provides a variety of legal services to poor and low income people in Los Angeles County. The Veterans Justice Center (VJC) at LAFLA addresses the legal needs of homeless and at-risk veterans using a holistic approach to not only assist a veteran in obtaining the government benefits he or she is entitled to, but also in removing barriers to improving quality of life. These barriers may include issues with citations, criminal records, and/or child support. My project with LAFLA focuses on assisting veterans with government benefits and issue spotting for other legal problems that the VJC can assist with.

As a native Angeleno, I have long been aware of the issue of homelessness in Los Angeles. Through volunteer and school work I learned about the many challenges that face the homeless population, and working toward the eradication of homelessness became a cause that was and is close to my heart. Although my Peace Corps service (Kenya/Botswana ’07-’09) and my legal education took me away from LA for a few years, I knew that I would eventually come back to my home and work in public service to help improve the lives of marginalized people.