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Date: 3/1/2023
LUDLOW – Ludlow veterans and their families can look forward to accessing benefits at a new veterans center located right in town.
The new center will be located at 487 Holyoke St. after the Board of Selectmen signed a lease with Procon Group LLC for the space on Feb. 7.
The lease will start on March 1 and extend until February 2026.
The office build-out is estimated to take six to eight weeks once the building permit is issued, according to Director of Veteran Services Eric Segundo.
At Town Meeting in October 2022, residents approved to raise and appropriate $33,500 for a veterans center in town. The center would include benefits and amenities like a food pantry, telehealth access, employment services and a meeting space.
Segundo explained how there is a need to support local veterans by making a veterans center in town instead of making them drive or use public transit to access other amenities.
The veterans center will have a dedicated office that will be set up with advance technology so veterans can telehealth with their Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) doctors, as well as attending their VA compensation and pension exams remotely. Additionally, they will have a computer set up for veterans to use for job seeking and resumes building.
“With the new space, we will be able to offer veteran specific programs, veterans lunches, and coffee hour, as well as provide space for outside veterans organization and agencies such as the VA Vet Center to bring services directly into Ludlow on a regular basis,” Segungo added.
The VFW Post 3236 voted to donate $10,000 in support of the new veterans center in Ludlow.
The donation will be used to purchase items to support the opening of the new center.
“We are excited for the new location that our veterans and their families will benefit from,” said Paul Chrzan, post quartermaster, veteran and lifelong Ludlow resident. “The center will provide much needed space to better serve those who have served our country. This is our [Post] investment for our veterans.”
The VFW in Ludlow continues to support its veterans, their families, and its community in any way they can.
Segundo said, “Currently we have approximately 1,000 registered veterans residing in Ludlow. We also provide services to their families and widows, which is another couple of hundred. This center is not only for our veterans but also their families.”
There is currently no veterans center in Ludlow and the Veterans Services works out of the Town Hall. The food pantry is temporarily set up in the conference room every Friday.
The new center will provide much-needed space for the veterans food pantry which has doubled in participation since it started in September according to Segundo.
Segundo added, “We are grateful for the donation, and we are looking forward to moving into the new space soon. The donation will allow us to purchase items to support the center. This donation, along with a recent donation of office furniture from an area law firm is greatly appreciated.”
Chrzan said, “The VFW motto is ‘no one does more for veterans,’ and here in Ludlow we live up to this every day.”