The Grassbaugh Veterans Project helps veterans who find themselves in need of legal assistance in the areas of housing and consumer issues.

The Grassbaugh Veterans Project helps veterans who find themselves in need of legal assistance in the areas of housing and consumer issues.

Jenna Grassbaugh has two tattoos that honor the memory of her late husband, Jonathan, an Army captain who in 2007 was killed in action in Iraq. But she wanted to do more to honor his name.

Grassbaugh said her husband had a personal motto – non sibi – which means “not for oneself.” And with the thought of selfless service, she donated half of a $500,000 life insurance policy she received to The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law to fund the Captain Jonathan D. Grassbaugh Veterans Project.

Now in its third year, the Grassbaugh Veterans Project helps veterans who find themselves in need of legal assistance in the areas of housing and consumer issues. Housing matters include landlord-tenant issues, evictions and foreclosure. Consumer issues include creditor/debtor and credit agency disputes, as well as assisting in cases involving relief from default judgment. Assistance is provided to veterans at no cost and by volunteer lawyers and Moritz students selected and trained to work with veterans.

Stephen Huefner directs the clinical programs at Moritz , and said the project has been well-received by the community. Three third-year law students actively work on the cases while three second-year students provide support. All the supervision is done by non-faculty lawyers who volunteer their time.

While originally limited to Franklin County veterans, the program is now open to veterans in all the contiguous counties and is getting referrals from many sources including legal aid and community programs that assist veterans.

Grassbaugh, who is originally from Acton, Mass., enrolled at Moritz partly as an attempt to distance herself from the pain of the past. A 2014 graduate of the school, she said spending the insurance money on anything other than honoring her husband’s memory did not seem right. Grassbaugh met her husband at age 18 when both were in Army ROTC. She is also a veteran who served in Iraq.

The clinic was established because Grassbaugh and the law school were aware that thousands of Ohio veterans and military service members seek legal services each year. They return home from tours of duty with particularly unique challenges and often with inadequate resources to hire attorneys.

The project helps veterans for free. Huefner said donations have nearly reached the school’s goals of matching Grassbaugh’s initial donation. He said the program is encouraging lawyers, particularly those with experience in housing and consumer law, to volunteer to be supervising attorneys. He said there is no set time commitment, but only that lawyers be able to dedicate some time when the students need the help.

Lawyers who would like to learn more about how to contribute their time to the Grassbaugh Veterans Project can contact: Cybele Smith at 614.292.7707 or smith.302@osu.edu.

Those who want to learn more about the project or to donate can visit the Grassbaugh Veterans Project.