Help
for
the
veterans
New
Feb
4,
2011
Hi, I thought you might be interested in
this:Veterans Services | Monroe County, NY.
You can view it at http://www.monroecounty.gov/vet-index.php.
This should be the first point of
contact for any of our local veterans.
It will save a tremendous amount
of time and frustration.
Rick Gough
- Monroe
County
VFW
Commander
VFW Post
8495 Post Service Officer
The Post Service Officer assists members of the Post, their widows and
orphans
and other worthy causes broughtto their attention in obtaining rightful
benefits from the
federal and
state governments.And very important web site for information is the
VFW
web site http://www.vfw.org
William
Hanifin Post Service Officer
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Veterans of all
wars and now with returning veterans from the wars in
the Mideast, have
sometimes needed or still need help finding answers
and resolutions to service related
issues and
post-service rights and benefits earned for their service. The Veterans of
Foreign Wars and their members are committed to aid
veterans and keep the memory
of
veterans alive in their communities.
They also have gone through the initial and o
ngoing
stage of seeking help and
information. We are here to aid those returning who
need help in resolving veterans issues.
E-mail us at webmaster@vfw8495.org with
any questions about the post's help activities.
Veterans
Administration
The Department of Veterans Affairs has a web page "VA Benefits in
Brief" that describes VA Benefits.
Click here - http://www.vba.va.gov/pubs/forms/VBA-21-0760-ARE.pdf
Veterans
Benefits Site
- A ,government
sponsored and organized 500 federal and state
benefit programsone one single
site. Check it out at www.govbenefits.gov or click here,
Gov benefits
William
Hanifin Post Service Officer
HELP
BASE
GREATER
ROCHESTER
Online
Resources, News and Events for our
Veterans,
Servicemembers and Families
Help Base Greater Rochester
www.HelpBaseGreaterRochester.org
An online
resource for veterans, service members, and their families in
Monroe,
Livingston, Ontario, Seneca, Wayne and Yates Counties.
To help find the
resources that you are looking for, you select the most appropriate
caption on the
left of the web site and follow the prompts.
The mission of
Help Base Greater Rochester is to enhance services by coordinating,
mobilizing and
educating the community-at-large about the issues facing veterans,
service members,
and their families and advocating for the necessary services to
ensure
that these community
members can regain and maintain their physical,
emotional, and economic
well-being.
"This website is
a collaboration among several organizations in the area who wish
to
help all veterans and their
families to find the help that they may need for a great
many
services. The American Red Cross,Veterans
Outreach Center, Vet Center,
VA, County of Monroe, The Salvation Army
and the Army Strong Community
Center.
are all involved in this project. I took a few minutes to
visit the website and admit I'm
very impressed."
Rick
Gough, Commander
Monroe
County
Council
Veterans
of
Foreign
Wars
of
the
United
States
A very important contact located in Rochester is:
Mrs. Marianna W. Sernoffsky - marianne.sernoffsky@us.army.mil
Community Support Leader - Soldier Support Center
William
Hanifin Post Service Officer
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Recently Discharged?
4 steps to be on your
way to receiving everything you have earned:
1. Secure your discharge certificate (DD Form 214)
2. Enroll in VA health care within your first 12 months from
separation. Steps include:
Visiting the closest VA facility or Veteran Service
Center
Fill out the form (10 10EZ)
Visit your nearest New York State Veterans
Counsoler County Veteran Service
Agency. Before Visiting
gather as much information as possible
including but not limited to : DD214;
Medical Records; Bank account
information;
Dependent information.
3. If you need help obtaining your Form DD 214, or any other necessary
documentation,
call 1-888-838-7697(NYS Division of Veterans
Affairs) visit
www.veterans.ny.gov .
To locate a veterans counsoler, call 1-888-838-7697 (NYS Division of
Veterans Affairs)
visit
www.veterans.ny.gov .
As a veteran living in New York State you may be eligible for a variety
of economic,
medical and social benefits (including compensation, health care,
vocational
rehabilitation/training, tuition assistance for higher education, and
real property tax
exemptions) These benefits are
not automatic, however -
you must apply for them
From NYS Department of Veterans
Affairs brochure & VVOA
Veterans
Outreach
Center,
Inc.
The scars of
war are deep, life-altering and slow to heal. Veterans Outreach Center
proactively seeks out veterans in need who continue to suffer in
silence-battling personal
wars that can be won, with our help. VOC's collaborative approach to
treatment cares for
the whole person. Veterans receive the breadth of services needed to
regain their mental,
physical and economic health; reconnect with themselves and society;
and resume
productive lives.
At Veterans Outreach Center, we help veterans of all eras,
including World War II, Korea,
Vietnam, the Persian Gulf, Operation Iraqi Freedom, Operation Enduring
Freedom, those
who served during peacetime, and Guard and Reserve military personnel.
We stand ready
to assist current troops returning to the home front. We believe the
healing process for all
veterans involves the efforts of family, friends and community to
actively participate in the
reintegration process.
Veterans Outreach Center is the oldest
community-based veteran outreach effort in the
nation. Opened in 1973 to support Vietnam veterans coping with their
wartime experiences
and to facilitate government benefits claims, VOC has evolved to the
meet the contemporary
and ever-changing need of all veterans.
.click here for more info
459
South Avenue |
Rochester, NY 14620 |
585.546.1081 |
Cell: 585.474.2068 |
Direct
Line 585.295.7854
Veterans
Education Benefits
Ms.
Laura
Stradley,
Military
Coordinator
for
Bryant
&
Stratton
College, spoke
at the Post prior to the February
2010 meeting,
regarding veterans benefits for
education. There are many
programs and
grants to veterans that can be used to
advance the veterans
education.
Ms. Stradley explained the sources and the help
she provides for the
veteran to determine what is available for the individual. If a
veteran
is interested in educational benefits, Colleges and Universities have
staff to
review the applicant and guide the veteran through the
variety of financial help available.
She left a number of folders
at
the post. It was a very
informative presentation.
This
is a link to a VFW website that any unemployed
comrades in our post may use.
Also useful for
any returning vet. www.vetjobs.com
Denise Edelman
Member
Insurance
VFW
National Headquarters
406 W. 34th
Street
Kansas
City, Missouri 64111
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Veterans
Information Links
We
are
Veterans
helping
Veterans
in
the
Veterans
of
Foreign
Wars
and
we need eligible
veterans in our Perinton VFW Post 8495. Check your eligibility to join
-
click
here eligibility
Its official, DD-214's are NOW Online.
The
National
Personnel Records Center (NPRC) has provided the following
website for
veterans to gain access to their DD-214's online:
http://vetrecs.archives.gov/
Guide
for veterans housing and mortgages and what VA loans are
A comprehensive
consumer guide on housing and mortgages for
veterans and active military.
It's located at link below and
covers what VA loans are, its benefits,
how to apply for one, special protections against foreclosure, etc.
Go to: http://www.mortgageloan.com/veterans/
Mesothelioma
Watch
-Asbestos
Exposure
Information
Servicemen and
women who were in the ranks during the period from World War II
into the seventies might well have been exposed to asbestos and
asbestos products.
The most serious impact of asbestos exposure is mesothelioma, a lethal
form of
cancer
that usually develops in the lungs.
Mesotheliomawatch. home page:
http://www.mesotheliomawatch.org/
Mesotheliomawatch
and
the
military:
http://www.mesotheliomawatch.org/category/asbestos-and-the-military/
VA
Health Site
- Here
is a new VA health site It has a calendar schedule, various
health
information. It's worth
checking out by clicking here, Veterans Health
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The
National Registry for WWII Veterans
Available on the internet.
Our nations
World War 2 veterans can now use the internet to add their
names to the WWII
Memorial Registry
that
honors
those
who
participated
in
our
nations
largest
and
most
devastating
war. Any American who served in
the armed forces or contributed to the war effort on the
home
front in factories and shipyards or farms and
neighborhoods is eligible to be added to the registry.
The web address
is www.WWIImemorial.com or click here WWII Registry
2010 Korean War Veterans revisit Information
Viet Nam Virtual Wall
(received from Frank
Balik)
The link below is a virtual wall of all those lost
during
the Viet Nam
war with the names, bio's
and other information on our lost comrades. It is a very interesting
link, and those who served
in that time frame and lost friends or family can look them up on this
site.
First click on a state......then when it opens .........a
name.......then it should show you a picture
of the person or at least his bio and medals......
http://www.virtualwall.org/iStates.htm
Changes in Flag Saluting for
veterans
In the Sep-Nov 2008 issue of Army Echoes there is an article which
states that
Retired
Military as well as veterans may render the hand salute regardless
whether they are in uniform or not.
The article is
as follows:
"Retired
Soldiers are Still Proud! Still Serving! Congress has put Still
Saluting into l
aw for Retired Soldiers and other veterans. The 2008
National Defense Authorization
Act (Public Law 110-181) changed Sect.
9, Title 4, U.S. Code, which covers "Conduct
during hoisting, lowering
or passing the flag." Following is that section of the U.S.
Code, as
reworded by the law change. Please share this information with veterans
and other retired military who don't get ECHOES.
"During the
ceremony of hoisting or lowering the flag or when the flag is passing
in a
parade or in review, all persons present in uniform should render
the military salute.
Members of the Armed Forces and veterans who are
present but not in uniform may
render the military salute. All other
persons present should face the flag and stand at
attention with their
right hand over the heart, or if applicable, remove their headdress
with their right hand and hold it at the left shoulder, the hand being
over the heart.
Citizens of other countries present should stand at
attention. All such conduct toward
the flag in a moving column should
be rendered at the moment the flag passes."
I think this is
worthy of the widest dissemination.
Frank Balikreturn
to
top
From our Chaplain - When a
Veteran Passes Away
A planning guide for the Surviving Family. This is an important
pamphlet that every veteran should read and keep available in their
important records. One of the more difficult tasks a survivor may face
after the death of a beloved veteran is identifying, securing and
completing the numerous claims forms to obtain VA survivors' benefits.
The anxiety and fear of the unknown — who to call, what to do, or where
to go for help — can be a daunting experience.
To avoid such a situation, and to ensure that those who have proudly
served our nation take advantage of all the benefits to which they are
entitled, veterans and their families are encouraged to organize their
personal and military records as part of regular estate planning. While
your funeral director can assist you with the necessary paperwork,
gathering and storing these important documents now will help ease the
burden and be helpful to your family at the time of need.
Veterans of the United States armed forces may be eligible for a broad
range of programs and services provided by the U.S. Department of
Veterans Affairs (VA). Eligibility for most VA benefits is based upon
discharge from active military service under other than dishonorable
conditions. Reservists and National Guard members, as well as their
spouses and dependent children, may also be eligible for VA burial and
memorial benefits if they were entitled to retirement pay at the time
of death, or would have been if they had been over age 60.
The pamphlet is produced by: Vietnam Veterans of America - New York
State Council and The New York State Tribute Foundation, Inc., an
affiliate of the New York State Funeral Directors Association. For a
copy of this pamphlet in pdf format, go to:
http://nyvietnamvets.org/mainfiles/pdf/w-a-v-p-a.pdf
Frank Pittinaro Post Chaplain