Whatever happen to Governor’s Veterans Outreach and Assistance Centers

Veterans served this great nation, fighting for people’s rights and freedom to practice democracy. When that veteran comes home they still continue to fight to get the benefits due to them. We have 1,280,000 veterans in Pennsylvania. Of those, 544,000 are over 65, and the majority of the rest, being Vietnam-era vets, are close to 60.

In the past months we have seen the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania cut back on veteran services. This was evident with the Governor’s Veterans Outreach and Assistance Centers shutting down. Services include disability to veterans injured in the service, pension, job search, home loan eligibility certificates, aid to homeless veterans and burial benefits, according to the center's Web site. Reasons for the cut backs were due to economic reasons. The Governor’s Veterans Outreach and Assistance Centers provided soldiers, veterans, and their spouses’ services that could help with claims for compensation and networking for the client. The entire program, with a budget of only $900,000, is funded by federal grant dollars, so it didn’t reduce the state budget by one dime.

“The decision to close all five Governor’s Veterans Outreach and Assistance Centers was difficult, but necessary given the economy,” Department of Labor and Industry spokesman Troy Thompson said (Times Tribune, 2009).

So the question that is asked is where does this money go? It was decided to relocate the funds from the federally funded grant to the PA Careerlink. First I would like to address the willingness of the Careerlink to visit a frail 91 year old veteran from WWII in Wayne County and help him retrieve missing awards that he was due to his service so that he can past them on to his family?

I can’t see the PA Careerlink acting as Ruth Gonzalez, who assisted thousands of veterans obtain pensions and other benefits during her 22 years at the Governor’s Veterans Outreach and Assistance Center in West Pittston. Even after the center closed, Ms. Gonzalez continued to work on 125 unresolved claims on her own time.

Not to knock the services of the PA Careerlink for unemployed PA citizens ,but how informed are they about Department of Veteran Affairs’ rules and regulations and the Board of Veterans Appeals? This is why we created this program, which began in unused office spaces in National Guard armories and evolved down to what are now only five locations in the entire state.

An issue that is not being addressed is that the PA Careerlink Veteran Representative is 50/50. This means they work fifty percent of the time for Careerlink and fifty percent of the time for the Veteran Community. If I look at the numbers this means the money that was funding Governor’s Veterans Outreach and Assistance Center is now in Careerlink and they are only helping veteran’s 50 percent of the time. Could someone help me figure that out?

This is why our congressmen and elected officials need to address PA Careerlink and start defending veteran’s rights and benefits. I ask the public where the congressmen were when veterans of PA most needed them. Congressmen should step forward to investigate this issue and figure ways to assist the veteran in a positive social manor. Once again the veteran is fighting for his benefits, our battle as veterans still continues.

"It's going to be rough. To me, in a way, they're sort of turning our veterans down a little bit, not giving the veterans what they really deserve anymore. I think they're letting go a lot on veteran’s assistance. The veterans have done a lot for this country," said Norm Emery, 88, a World War II Army veteran and treasurer of Pottsville Joint Veterans (Times Leader, 2009).