BISMARCK, N.D. (PNS) – Low-income Veterans in North Dakota, at risk of being unhoused, have options to turn to if a legal issue stands in their way.

That includes a new partnership to help navigate situations in or out of the courtroom. Legal Services of North Dakota has a new initiative with Community Action Partnership (CAPND), that allows the two agencies to work closely with a client in need of resolving a legal matter so they can secure or maintain housing.

Legal Services’ Gale Coleman says something like child-support payments might involve assisting an individual through court proceedings – but she says it goes beyond that.

The partnership is funded through a V-A grant. Diana Bjerke, who heads up homeless programs at the Fargo V-A Health Care System, says efforts like this are critical in the broader effort to provide housing.

She adds separate programs can intervene before a problem grows into a legal nightmare.

Bjerke says collectively, these initiatives help push North Dakota closer to ‘functional zero’ status for homelessness among Veterans. Coleman notes the stability that arises from the partnership with CAPND can help ensure an individual’s progress isn’t derailed.