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MINNESOTA VETS' CHIEF SAYS ONLY A THIRD OF VETERANS

APPLY FOR BENEFITS -- Outreach is essential, and

Minnesota has a new program to help vets get

information on their benefits.

 

 

Since we know that VA outreach can be minimal at best, it's up to us to help get the word to other veterans.

Think about how you can do a little local outreach.

It would be wonderful to think that every veteran had been informed of their available benefits.

For more on VA benefits, download the 2007 edition of the Federal Benefits for Veterans and Dependents handbook...
click here...

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Story below:

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Commissioner: Only a third of veterans apply for benefits

by Tim Budig
ECM Capitol correspondent

Minnesota Army National Guard 2nd Lt. Andrew LaBree remembers returning home after a year’s tour of duty overseas, being processed back into civilian life at the Army base but paying only partial attention.

“My mind was on getting back home,” said LaBree, 27, a graduate of Monticello High School whose military unit spent time guarding the Baghdad airport.

That LaBree returned home with a packet of information on benefits he hazily understood is not remarkable.

Minnesota Veterans Affairs Commissioner Clark Dyrud said it’s estimated only about a third of veterans apply for the benefits they’re entitled to, speaking at Capitol press conference Wednesday, Aug. 1.

State officials believe they have a way of helping.

A new state telephone help-line, LinkVet, is designed to provide veterans with immediate crisis intervention, referrals, and otherwise assistance in navigating the bureaucratic benefit maze.

The line is up and running at 1-888-LINKVET (546-5838).

It’s a 24-hour, seven-days-a-week line.

LinkVet will staffed by Minnesota Veterans Affairs Department staff and crisis intervention specialists.

Should a veteran need information found outside the state veterans affairs office, three-way telephone connections can be hooked up under the phone system, allowing the vet and state official to resolve problems with the third party.

LaBree, who is enrolled in divinity school at Bethel College in Arden Hills, explained that military life, with its well defined missions, can be easier to deal with than the clutter of civilian life.

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Larry Scott  --