Nathan Goncalves

The Project

Nathan aided low-income disabled veterans in their rehabilitation by addressing family law issues through direct assistance, counsel and advice, and legal education to promote family reunification.

Veterans face a wide range of issues when reintegrating with their respective communities. Much of the currently available support for veterans is focused on healthcare or obtaining benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs; however, very little attention is given to the importance of family reintegration and the impact it has on the success of veterans transitioning into the civilian population. Nathan utilized his understanding of the veteran community to develop services and legal education to address issues that are more prevalent in the veteran community.

Fellowship Highlights

During the two-year Fellowship period, Nathan:

• Provided legal services and advice to 60 veterans and reunited combat veterans with their children to assist with the holistic treatment of PTSD and reintegration into the civilian world
• Created and presented a Continuing Legal Education course to help eliminate bias towards PTSD and other mental health issues associated with military service
• Produced an extensive resource guide for the Harriett Buhai Center to distribute to veteran clients that provide information for complete wrap-around services for the veteran community
• Accepted new cases and provided legal education for the Veterans Family Law Project in order to reach as many veterans as possible 
• Developed and applied the framework to continue the Veteran’s Family Law Project at the completion of the Fellowship 
• Secured funding and resources to ensure that the indigent veteran community in the greater Los Angles area continues to have no cost family law services

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