It’s Americorp week! Legal Aid’s Americorp program is featured this week. Meet Ben Butler, an Oklahoma City lawyer directing the Oklahoma City Equal Justice Works (EJW) program.
The program focuses on assisting assist veterans suffering from chronic homelessness, who need help applying for or preserving their disability benefits, who have family law issues, who want to create a plan to ensure the well-being of their family, or who have other civil legal needs.
Also pictured are two law students who have interned with our EJW program. Zachary Wright, and OCU law student and LASO extern, and Brandi Keese, an OCU Law Student and extern with the Oklahoma State House of Representatives.

Ben has started a Medical/Legal Partnership with the Oklahoma City VA medical hospital that has been doing great work representing clients with disability issues and guardianships, for example. Ben was recently able to help a veteran who had been hospitalized at the VA for over a month. He was unable to be released due to his health condition. With no family nearby, Ben was able to obtain a special guardianship, enabling his Social Worker to find the veteran a place in a long-term skilled nursing facility to care for him with all his needs.  Ben has also recently worked with the VA social workers to understand emergency protective orders.  These workers are able to use this information to help veterans in protective order situations.  Recently they helped obtain a victim’s protective order for a veteran who had suffered two broken ribs and was left at the hospital by his abuser.

If you need help with a civil legal problem, call Legal Aid at 888-534-5243.

Read more at the EJW website here!