|
|
|
An upcoming workshop is designed to help veterans learn about the benefits available to them, among them, health care, disability compensation, employment assistance, education and training, survivor benefits, life insurance and burial benefits.
Vietnam Veterans of America is partnering with Monroe County and the Department of Veteran Affairs to host a veterans’ benefits workshop Saturday, Feb. 25, at Monroe Community Hospital. The workshop is free and open to any person who served in the United States military, National Guard or Reserves, as well as their spouses and children. Veterans who bring proof of discharge will be able to enroll for VA health care at the workshop.
“The workshop is geared for all veterans, but we’re looking for a good turnout of Kodak employees in light of what happened there,” said Ken Moore, president of Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 20. “It could be really beneficial for them.”
Moore said he hopes the workshop will attract veterans who may be losing their employer-sponsored health insurance, but may qualify for VA health care, among other veteran benefits.
For veterans in search of work, the workshop will also provide information on employment training programs. These programs cover various aspects of employment assistance, including resume editing, computer training and supplying clothing for interviews.
Spreading awareness is one of Moore’s main objectives.
“There are 60,000 veterans in Monroe County, of which a large percentage are entitled to benefits they don’t know about,” he said, adding that benefits often remain untouched because veterans are unaware that they qualify or that the benefits exist.
Many veterans, he said, don’t know that conditions such as diabetes, prostate cancer and leukemia, linked to the use of Agent Orange in Vietnam, warrant compensation.
Moore said VA health care has drastically improved in recent years.
“The services they provide and the things they give you are just incredible,” he said. “Never again will one generation of veterans abandon another.”
An upcoming workshop is designed to help veterans learn about the benefits available to them, among them, health care, disability compensation, employment assistance, education and training, survivor benefits, life insurance and burial benefits.
Vietnam Veterans of America is partnering with Monroe County and the Department of Veteran Affairs to host a veterans’ benefits workshop Saturday, Feb. 25, at Monroe Community Hospital. The workshop is free and open to any person who served in the United States military, National Guard or Reserves, as well as their spouses and children. Veterans who bring proof of discharge will be able to enroll for VA health care at the workshop.
“The workshop is geared for all veterans, but we’re looking for a good turnout of Kodak employees in light of what happened there,” said Ken Moore, president of Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 20. “It could be really beneficial for them.”
Moore said he hopes the workshop will attract veterans who may be losing their employer-sponsored health insurance, but may qualify for VA health care, among other veteran benefits.
For veterans in search of work, the workshop will also provide information on employment training programs. These programs cover various aspects of employment assistance, including resume editing, computer training and supplying clothing for interviews.
Spreading awareness is one of Moore’s main objectives.
“There are 60,000 veterans in Monroe County, of which a large percentage are entitled to benefits they don’t know about,” he said, adding that benefits often remain untouched because veterans are unaware that they qualify or that the benefits exist.
Many veterans, he said, don’t know that conditions such as diabetes, prostate cancer and leukemia, linked to the use of Agent Orange in Vietnam, warrant compensation.
Moore said VA health care has drastically improved in recent years.
“The services they provide and the things they give you are just incredible,” he said. “Never again will one generation of veterans abandon another.”
