Opening Doors-Supporting Our Wounded Warriors

Second of Two Parts
“A Veteran is a person who at one point in their life wrote a blank check payable to the United States of America for up to and including their life…” (Author unknown)
Requests for information on veterans’ benefits are a very small percentage of the calls and emails I receive at the Office of Disability Services each year. I have interpreted this to mean that the Federal Government, the VA, and local veterans’ organizations do an ambitious job of educating our service men and women on their basic rights and benefits.
So the information presented below is by no means a comprehensive picture of all the support that is offered to our veterans. Rather, it focuses on resources and programs of particular interest to our “wounded warriors.”
• NJ 2-1-1 (www.nj211.org) , a portal to information about the resources available in our state, has a number of pages on its website specifically geared to assist military personnel and their families. Resources are sorted as to national state or local origin. One of the more local resources highlighted is the:
• The National Resource Directory, www.national-resourcedirectory.gov, is a web-based directory for wounded, ill and injured service members, veterans and their families. It provides access to national, state and local services and resources that support them in transitioning back to civilian life. The directory is a joint project of the Departments of Labor, Defense and Veterans Affairs.
• Hire A Hero (www.hireahero.org) is a non-profit agency that brings military job seekers and military friendly employers together.
• Wounded Warrior Project www.woundedwarriorproject.org, a non-profit organization, offers a variety of services that provide tangible support to help the severely wounded to heal both physically and mentally.
• Military service members can receive expedited processing of disability claims from Social Security. Benefits available through Social Security are different than those from the Department of Veterans Affairs and require a separate application. This process can be started at any time while in military status or after discharge, whether still hospitalized, in a rehab program or in out-patient treatment in a military or civilian medical facility. Apply online www.socialsecurity. gov/woundedwarriors, or through your local Social Security office, or call 1-800-772-1213 to schedule an appointment. For the deaf or hard of hearing the TTY No. is 1-800-325-0778,
• NJ Family Assistance Center at the Pomona Armory in Egg Harbor Township (609-272-8546 or 609-645-6248). Family Assistance Centers help family members of Marines, Airmen, National Guard or Reserve Soldiers or Sailors on active duty.
• Veterans Assistance Project, introduced in Cape May County in 2009, is a program that assists military veterans who come into contact with the criminal justice system. The program provides referrals to existing community services as well as mentors for veterans who are charged with indictable and non-indictable offenses (other than minor traffic violations) as well as veterans who are on probation. It is a joint venture of the Judiciary, the NJ Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, and the NJ Department of Human Services, Division of Mental Health Services.
• Veteran’s Haven, located on the grounds of Ancora Psychiatric Hospital, is a transitional housing center for homeless veterans. Participants must agree to a two-year program of rehabilitation during which being employed is a requirement.
• Home Quest, a division of Community Quest, Inc. in Egg Harbor Township, was created to fill a desperate need for housing for veterans in New Jersey. Their goal is to build at least 152 units of housing including apartments and single-family homes over a five-year period. Visit www.cqinc.org to learn about their efforts.
• The Bob Woodruff Family Fund for Traumatic Brain Injury, bobwoodrufffamilyfund.org, was established to offer aid to veterans.
• Service Members Civil Relief Act (SCRA) offers credit card help to anyone serving on active duty or deployment within the US Military. Those who qualify are entitled to have the annual percentage rate reduced to 5.9 percent and have any account fees suppressed. This benefit applies to the account balance from the date the member enters active duty to the point at which he or she comes off active duty. To apply, fax 336-805-8496 or email SCRA@fiacardservices.com, or mail FIA Card Services, PO Box 20221, Greensboro, NC 27420, a copy or your orders or enlistment contract, credit card number, name, unit name, commander’s name and contact phone number.
• Publications on various aspects of the ADA as it applies to veterans with disabilities can be found at www.ada.gov and www.eeoc.gov.
Pierson is the Coordinator of the Cape May County Office of Disability Services