February 23, 2017

Worcester, Gardner to get share of $350K grant

Veterans’ agencies in Worcester and Gardner along with two in Boston will share $350,000 in state grants to provide legal assistance to hundreds of veterans in need.

The grants will help fund general legal representation for veterans, as well as other services including housing and education assistance, employment, health benefits through the Department of Veterans Affairs, and discharge status upgrade.

Attorney General Maura Healey on Wednesday announced the grants that will be provided to Community Legal Aid, Inc. in Worcester ($95,000), Montachusett Veterans Outreach Center in Gardner ($35,000), and two Boston agencies: Veterans Legal Services ($95,000) and The Legal Services Center of Harvard Law School ($125,000).

“Fulfilling our commitment to veterans means ensuring that they receive the benefits they have earned through their service to our country,” Ms. Healey said in the announcement. “With this new grant program, we will be providing hundreds of veterans in Massachusetts with the legal assistance they need to access health care, housing and other services.”

Jonathan L. Mannina, executive director of Community Legal Aid at 405 Main St., Worcester, said the grant will allow the 65-year-old agency to get its Veterans Legal Assistance Project off the ground. It’s an initiative the agency has been trying to start for some time. The project will be headed by Katrina Conley, an attorney and a lieutenant commander in the Navy Reserve. Before law school, she was deployed multiple times on active duty including to Iraq. Ms. Conley will conduct “know-your-rights” training for up to 60 veterans and mentor private volunteer attorneys in Worcester, Franklin, Hampden, Hampshire and Berkshire counties.

To continue reading on the Telegram and Gazette website, click here. For a related story on MassLive (website of the Springfield newspaper The Republican), click here.

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