Veterans Serving Veterans
Syracuse University is consistently ranked as one of the best private schools for veterans in the country, and that commitment extends from supporting veterans in the classroom to serving veterans in the community. Veterans make up a major part of the Syracuse community, both on- and off-campus. Onondaga County has one of the largest veteran populations in New York, with approximately 23,000 veterans located throughout the entire region and over 5,000 in Syracuse alone. Two schools at Syracuse University, the College of Law and the Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics, came together to create a program that simultaneously teaches students important social work concepts while also putting them into practice to create a positive impact and assist the local veteran community.
The Legal-Social Work Partnership Program was established in 2023 by Falk alumna Wendy Goidel ’84, Esq. While there are law firms that employ social workers in their practices, it is still quite uncommon. Goidel, the founding and managing member of Goidel Law Group PLLC and its Estate Planning & Elder Law Center, is one of the few who is leading the way. Goidel is the founder and co-developer of Concierge Care Coordination, a holistic practice model, which merges geriatric social work with legal planning. Hoping to offer social work graduate students the opportunity to participate in fieldwork with the College of Law’s Betty and Michael D. Wohl Veterans Legal Clinic, Goidel needed to find the right social work supervisor for the program’s student. The lack of social workers operating in law, however, made it a difficult task. Goidel returned to her alma mater and met with Ken Marfilius, the Assistant Dean of Online and Distance Education and an Associate Teaching Professor in the School of Social Work.
“Ken Marfilius from Falk reached out and we put our heads together about how we could start a program for a student here. It was just a great opportunity to set up an internship for a social work student to be assigned here at the Veterans Legal Clinic at the College of Law.”
Elizabeth G. Kubala, Executive Director of Clinical Education, Director of Veteran and Military Affairs, Executive Diretor of the Betty and Michael D. Wohl Veterans Legal Clinic
Marfilius’ background as a United States Air Force Veteran, specifically serving in the U.S. Air Force Biomedical Science Corps, made him the perfect candidate to start the program. While on active duty, Marfilius held many titles, including mental health therapist, family advocacy officer in charge, and manager of the alcohol and drug prevention and treatment program. Jumping on the opportunity, Marfilius reached out to Syracuse Law’s Elizabeth G. Kubala, Executive Director of the Betty and Michael D. Wohl Veterans Legal Clinic (VLC), a U.S. Army veteran who served on active duty as an Army Judge Advocate General’s Corps officer for 22 years. The clinic provides representation to veterans and their families seeking benefits from the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) or upgrading a military discharge through various military branches.
“Ken Marfilius from Falk reached out and we put our heads together about how we could start a program for a student here,” Kubala said. “It was just a great opportunity to set up an internship for a social work student to be assigned here at the Veterans Legal Clinic at the College of Law.”
Together, Kubala and Marfilius were able to navigate challenges and create a program that would benefit both College of Law and Falk students as well as the local veteran community in Syracuse. The last step, however, was to find the right graduate student for the job, and beginning in the Fall of 2023, Benetta Dousuah became the Legal-Social Work Partnership Program’s first Fellow.
“While I was in the Army, a lot of people did not want to go to Behavioral Health because of the stigma associated with mental health,” Dousuah said. “Once I got out, I said ‘Wait, let me go be a social worker’ and I can someday work for the army to encourage young soldiers to get Behavioral Health help.”
A Helping Hand
Originally from Ghana, Dousuah grew up in northern New Jersey before serving in the Army for six years as a 92 Yankee, or Unit Supply Specialist. However, it was not until she witnessed, and personally experienced, poor mental health support that inspired her to pursue social work and support those who have served, or are actively serving, the country. The legal challenges veterans face are unique, typically related to the details of their service, and require a certain background and understanding to solve. As veterans age, these barriers can worsen and begin to involve different areas of their physical, social, and emotional health. With over 80% of veterans being over the age of 55, there is a tremendous demand for legal and social support.
“If you don’t have a discharge status of Honorable Discharge, you may not be entitled to certain services, specifically VA services and even VA disability compensation, which is financial assistance,” Marfilius said. “Prior to their discharge upgrade, they’re often dealing with psychosocial issues, potentially mental health issues, that could affect employment, housing, legal, et cetera.”
Without the right discharge, many veterans cannot even apply for the services that help them face these broader issues. This lack of access has only caused more hardships, with 22 veterans committing suicide each day, and thousands more struggling to navigate additional resources and assistance. While the VLC provides remarkable legal support to veterans, assigning cases to law students who are participating in the clinic course, it could not always provide broader support with other issues that may be faced in daily life. Now, with the creation of the Legal-Social Work Partnership Program, law students are introduced to the role social work can play in law and have begun to learn more about how social workers can amplify services to veterans.
“While the law students are focusing on the legal aspect of the veteran claims, I am the social work intern who connects them with services outside of the law clinic through SyracuseServes.”
Benetta Dousuah
“It doesn’t take long for a new student to dive into a case and realize I can help with the disability part, but I can’t quite help with this family law matter that the veteran is dealing with,” Kubala said. “Then the students bring Benetta into the picture, with the approval of the client, and she’ll put on her social work hat to analyze the various challenges that the veterans are facing and help connect them to local resources in the community. She’s kind of the first step in a helping hand.”
By working with Dousuah, law students are actively observing and learning various social work skills, giving them a better understanding of empathy and awareness, specifically towards the bigger picture past individual legal problems. The law students have begun to adopt more holistic approaches, realizing their limitations, and recognizing when they should find a resource that is better suited to handle certain problems. This, in turn, creates stronger student-attorney/client relationships, which results in more positive outcomes and success for veterans seeking support. As a result, more than 100 veterans were served through the Legal-Social Work Partnership Program.
After identifying additional needs, Dousuah is responsible for referring veterans to SyracuseServes, a program of the D’Aniello Institute for Veteran and Military Families. The program connects local veterans in Onondaga County with other services, allowing them to request assistance in various realms they may not be able to access otherwise. Dousuah’s initial assessment describes who the veteran is and what exactly they are looking for, leading to a more thorough intake process performed by an on-campus representative, who will then provide connections to local services, guaranteeing each veteran receives assistance unique to their case.
“While the law students are focusing on the legal aspect of the veteran claims, I am the social work intern who connects them with services outside of the law clinic through SyracuseServes,” Dousuah said.
The impact of the Legal-Social Work Partnership program not only extends to both Syracuse University students and professors but also to the broader veteran community found within Onondaga County. With hopes of only expanding the program, and even possibly becoming a model for other universities to replicate in their communities, the program will continue to reach more and more veterans across the nation. Through the Goidel Law Group Internship Fund, the program will only continue to grow as it allows for two social work graduate students to be selected as fellows each year, providing $5,000 stipends for their internship with the program.
“We’ve seen how valuable it can be when you’re assisting someone and they have additional individuals who are also invested in their success,” Kubala said. “It’s been really eye-opening to see how critical a role the social services play, and working with our local veteran population, it’s all kind of coming together at once.”