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4D — EL DORADO NEWS-TIMES Sunday, November 11, 2018
Assistance: Continued from Page 2D
Supportive Services for Veterans Families Program
This program provides grants and technical assistance to community-based, non-profit organizations. The grants help veterans and their families stay in their homes.
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and VA Supportive Housing Program (HUD-VASH)
HUD and VA partner to provide permanent housing and treatment services to homeless veterans. HUD allocates Housing Choice vouchers across the country. These vouchers allow veterans and their families to live in market rate rental housing. The VA provides case management services during this time. A housing subsidy is paid directly to the landlord by the local public housing authority. The veteran then pays the difference between the actual rent and the subsidized amount. The case management services help the veteran attain recovery goals.
Homeless Veterans Supported Employment Program
This program provides vocational assistance, job development and placement. It also provides ongoing support to improve employment outcomes among homeless veterans and those at risk of homelessness. Formerly homeless veterans who have been trained as Vocational Rehabilitation Specialists provide these services.
Compensated Work Therapy
This program is comprised of three unique programs to help veterans return to competitive employment:
• Sheltered Workshop
• Transitional Work
• Supported Employment
Veterans in the CWT program are paid at least the federal or state minimum
wage — whichever is higher.
Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment VetSuccess Program
This program assists veterans with service-connected disabilities. It helps them prepare for, find and keep suitable jobs. Services include:
• Comprehensive rehabilitation evaluation to determine abilities, skills and interests
• Employment services
• Assistance finding and keeping a job • On-the-job training
• Apprenticeship
• Non-paid work experiences
Acquired Property Sales for Homeless Providers Program
This program allows homeless provider organizations to purchase available properties. VA obtained these properties through foreclosures on VA-insured mortgages. Properties can be purchased at a discount rate of 20 to 50 percent. Some of the properties are available for lease.
How Can You Get More Information?
To connect with any of the above services, call the National Call Center for Homeless Veterans at 877-4AID-VET (877-424-3838). The hotline is free and available 24/7.
You do not need a VA registration or VA health care to use this service.
Poachers set sights on veterans in South Arkansas
By Sue Harper
Arkansas Department of Veterans Affairs
Special to the News-Times
Recently, two veterans in South Arkansas spent roughly $3,600 to have their claims filed.
“It’s absolutely needless,” said Jim Bob Davis, Ouachita County Veteran Service Officer. “The money the poachers are pulling from these veterans is sometimes all they have in savings. And it’s all the sadder because veterans do not have to spend one penny to get assistance with their claims.”
Yet veterans are paying up to $2,400 per claim for assistance that is free.
Plot twist: The poachers use the same free resource for which they bill their veterans.
Yes, that’s right. The individuals who preyed upon these veterans called the county veteran service officer for instructions and guidance on what to do to get the claim filed.
“If you are a veteran and you are asked to pay for assistance of benefits, please don’t do it,” said Gina Chandler, assistant director of veterans services for Arkansas Department of Veterans Affairs. “There is free help across the state.”
Why did the veterans not go directly to that free resource known as the county veteran service officer? In at least one case, the veteran had sought assistance from a CVSO several years prior and did not have a good experience, Davis said.
Another possibility might be that the veteran is not aware of the county veteran service officers days and hours. Most CVSO’s are part time. Hours are available online by county or zip code at www.veterans.arkansas.gov.
Some veterans might not be aware of how much service the county VSO can provide, but the poachers do.
Poachers have called Davis, his neighbors Danny Brown, Union County veteran service officer, and Brandy Dye, Ashley County veteran service officer, seeking information and guidance on filing claims.
“You start to recognize the voices when they call,” Davis said.
“A veteran should never pay for assistance with VA benefits,” Chandler said. “Lawyers are only allowed by VA law to charge a fee agreement of up to 20 percent. Veterans earned the benefits and should not pay to get them.”
In the past, poachers have impersonated veterans to get CVSOs to print forms that the poachers give to their target veteran to fill out, or poachers have driven target veterans to offices in Little Rock or to the county veteran service office and claimed the work done there was somehow under the poacher’s direction.
Most recently, poachers have resorted to calling county veteran service officers to get information over the phone.
“We are not going to stop answering veterans’ general questions over the phone,” Dye said.
“Our job is to make the claims process easier for veterans,” Brown added.
Davis, Dye and Brown are accredited with Veterans of Foreign Wars, Arkansas Department of Veterans Affairs and American Legion. They went through extensive training to become accredited with these National and State service organizations, and continue to train quarterly at the district level and annually at the state level to maintain their accreditations and keep up on new U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs developments. Having accreditation is necessary for access to U.S. Department Veterans Affairs computer system.
This has been part of a long-term plan, Chandler said.
In December 2015, Arkansas Department of Veterans Affairs began fielding district veteran service officers across the state in order to develop, support and train county veteran service officers, Chandler said. One of the main goals was to accredit CVSOs so those county veteran service officers can gain access to the VA computer systems that allow CVSOs to look into the veterans
See POACH, Page 5D
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Means: Continued from Page 3D
rescue site and the Humane Society there. It was definitely eye-opening and definitely changed my life,” Means said. Now he serves as the executive director for the Union County Animal Protection
Society and has launched several initiatives to increase awareness about local rescue animals.
After about five years in Hawaii, making a 10-year military career, Means decided to leave the U.S. Navy. Although he enjoyed his time in the service and planned for 20 years, his parents were both sick and he would have been
stationed far from them for large amounts of time. He and Colleen moved
to El Dorado, where they opened their business Creative Means. Mike Means has been working in graphic arts since; he also teaches classes at the South Arkansas Arts Center, as well as volunteering for their theatrical productions;
volunteers for UCAPS; and “relative bearing grease.” freelances extensively. He said he is glad to have
Means said he wouldn’t served.
change anything about “There’s a certain the time he served, save amount of camaraderie ... some of the bad weather Even now if someone says he and his shipmates they’re in the Navy, I’m faced on occasion. He like ‘Hey! Go Navy! Good remembers fondly the to meet another squid,” practical jokes newbies Means said. “It’s not a faced – being tasked with terrible thing to be in the finding batteries for sound military.”
powered telephones or Means left the service as
258 Industrial Road • 870-639-3920
a draftsman second class. He served on the USS Blue Ridge, the USS Cochrane and the USS Midway, as well as several smaller ships for short trips.
Caitlan Butler can be reached at 870-862-6611 or cbutler@eldoradonews. com.
Veterans Day 2017
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