By Mark Harvey
It has been pointed out to me that there are only three places in the entire universe: here, there and the space in between.
And here we are, squarely in the space in between.
We know that it’s 2014, but it still feels like 2013, so right now, we’re “in between.”
OK, then, let’s talk about folks who sometimes spend a lot of their lives in the space in between: veterans.
I know. Talking about “veterans” is a lot like talking about “elders” or “boomers.”
We talk as though everyone in that particular population is the same: They all share the same experience, so they all think alike, act alike, do the same things, feel the same ways, etc.
Right?
Wrong.
Many of us know veterans who loved their service.
Oh, sure, they have funny or amazing stories, and they may shake their heads and laugh while they tell them.
Maybe they made a career out of it. But they loved it.
Maybe they didn’t.
Maybe those stories are horrific — things, places, people and experiences that most of us can’t imagine.
It marked them, changed them. Maybe it left them in pieces, literally and figuratively.
And many reside, squarely, in the space in between — not here, not there, but in between — so let’s see if this is something that might do some folks some good.
The Northwest Justice Project (NJP) provides civil legal services to income-eligible folks in Washington state, and you’ve heard me go on about them before.
This is a group of genuinely decent attorneys who honestly believe that folks who need help ought to be able to get it, whether they can afford it or not.
They’re the folks who maintain www.washingtonlawhelp.org, which is an amazing website with a lot of free and accurate legal information. Go have a look because you’ll be . . . well, amazed.
Well, NJP has launched a veterans project.
The idea is to provide free legal services to veterans facing legal problems that are barriers to housing, employment or self sufficiency.
What does that mean? It means issues with child support, vacating criminal convictions or records, driver’s license suspensions, housing issues, discharge upgrades, consumer law, veterans’ benefits (think “VA”) and veterans’ benefits of justice-involved, incarcerated and recently released veterans.
And what if you’re a veteran who has an “issue” that isn’t in that little list I just rattled off? Call them, anyway: 855-NJP-VETS (657-8387).
I can hear some of your questions:
What about my discharge status?
NJP will work with a veteran with any discharge status.
True, said discharge might limit your options, but it won’t stop these folks from helping.
What about female veterans?
Good question, because these folks sometimes face even greater barriers to accessing services they earned and may require “special” services in order to deal with service-related sexual abuse trauma, so just call that number and ask for an attorney who specializes in just that.
What does “low-income” mean?
It means there’s a sliding scale, based on the veteran’s income, and it might not be as limiting as you think. Just call them and talk it over.
But I cannot find my DD-214!
They can help.
Think you might want to know a little more before you actually get on the phone with somebody? Okay, visit nwjustice.org/veterans and see what you see.
Deaf? Or hearing-impaired? Okay, dial 800-833-6384.
Are you through yet? No? More questions?
Good! Call them and talk it over, because here’s what I would tell you if we were sitting over coffee while I looked straight into your eyes:
I have worked with these people and this organization for many years. They are genuinely decent, they tell the truth, they care, and they will do exactly what they tell you they will do — exactly.
We can get stuck in the “space in between” or we can call it the road from “here” to “there.”
You deserve this.

Mark Harvey, who writes a weekly column in the Peninsula Daily News and hosts a weekly radio show in Port Angeles, is director of Clallam/Jefferson Information & Assistance, which operates through the Olympic Area Agency on Aging.
He can be reached at 360-452-3221 or by emailing harvemb@dshs.wa.gov.
More agency information can be found on Facebook at Olympic Area Agency on Aging-Information & Assistance.