Employee Spotlight
April 14, 2023
Madolyn Gingell, LCSW
National Coordinator for Legal Services for Veterans (LSV) Program
VHA Homeless Programs Office
How long have you worked for VA?
I’ve been with VA for 12 years.
What brought you to VA?
What originally brought me to VA was the desire to serve. I grew up in a family of blue-collar workers. From an early age, our parents reinforced service, work ethic, and integrity. Those are the same qualities that I saw in my colleagues at Bay Pines VA Health Care System and certainly now in the National Homeless Programs Office.
As National Coordinator for LSV, what are your days like?
The role of LSV is twofold. The first is to increase access to legal services for eligible Veterans through the promotion of the medical legal partnerships and VA-affiliated legal clinics throughout VHA. The second is to start a new federal grant program. We will have 2 grants specifically for providing legal services to Veterans and former servicemembers.
My day-to-day involves anything from helping to establish our new grant program to working collaboratively with VA’s Office of General Counsel to help different sites set up their medical legal partnerships.
How exactly will Veterans benefit from the new LSV grants?
I believe that access to legal services is a key missing component in the Veterans Health Administration right now.
We know that legal issues present a unique set of challenges for our Veterans, specifically related to the probability of experiencing homelessness or housing instability as well as an increased risk of suicide. Research has shown that when these legal needs are addressed, specifically through our medical legal partnerships, Veterans have shown greater improvements in their overall health outcomes. And that doesn't just benefit the Veteran. It can benefit their family, their support system and their community.
What do most people get wrong about justice-involved Veterans?
There are so many misconceptions. In my opinion, what it all comes down to is that every person has a unique story. Each person has traveled a different path, with unique experiences. Most of our justice-involved Veterans have underlying circumstances that can present challenges when reintegrating into society. I believe we need to continue to work towards removing stigma, start where the Veteran is and provide much needed resources. In my experience, most Veterans do not want a ‘hand-out’, they simply need a ‘hand up’.
What brings you the greatest sense of satisfaction in your work to provide legal services for Veterans?
It is the little things. It can be learning one intricate step of the federal grant process or understanding the difference between an Interim Final Rule or a Proposed Rule, or collaborating with my colleagues in the Veterans Justice Programs and across the VA Homeless Programs.
What is your “why” for this work?
I really do feel that this is my time to give back, to help establish this new program that will enable so many Veterans equitable access to legal services. I'm so grateful for my social work background because I feel like it prepared me well for this position. For this specific job, my “why” is because I feel that access to legal services is imperative for our Veterans. And I can't think of a more deserving population to serve.
