Veteran services providers should collaborate
Date: 5/18/2010
May 19, 2010.By G. Michael Dobbs
Managing Editor
SPRINGFIELD -- Daniel Walsh, the veterans' agent for the city of Springfield, told a group of officials and veterans' service providers on Friday, he and others have a "constant battle" over serving a growing number of people with a decreasing number of staff and resources.
State officials and local veterans and veterans' service providers met at the Mason Square Veterans Center to discuss ways to encourage collaboration between them and to strengthen outreach programs to assist the growing number of veterans in the Bay State.
Lt. Gov. Tim Murray acknowledged the continuing unstable economic environment in the state, which has affected funding for programs. He sees greater cooperation between local agencies as way to help vets during this time.
"As things rebound with the economy, we will be putting funding back into government programs, there will be premiums put on [those utilizing] collaboration with other stakeholders," he told the group.
Representatives from programs and organizations from Springfield, Chicopee, Holyoke, West Springfield and Southwick were present to hear Murray and Undersecretary Coleman Nee of the Massachusetts Department of Veterans' Affairs.
Murray noted that since the 9/11 attack, 30,000 Massachusetts residents have served in the military, with over 20,000 of them seeing duty in Iraq and Afghanistan.
"There is a whole new generation [of veterans] with different issues than previous generations," Murray said.
Unlike other states, Nee explained a veteran needs to be a legal resident for one day in order to be eligible for state services.
"This is the best state in the country for veterans' services, but you're only as good as your last time at bat," Murray said.
One of the first things Gov. Deval Patrick did upon taking office, Murray noted, was to reinstate an advisory board on veterans' services that meets on a quarterly basis to advise the governor on the changing needs of veterans.
James Berrelli, Jr., director of veterans'services in West Springfield, read a statement on behalf of Richard Girard, the president of the Massachusetts Veterans Services Officers Association, which questioned the wisdom of consolidating services between several communities as a way to save money.
Nee said that although current state law does allow for the creation of service districts between communities, the Secretary of Veterans' Affairs "wouldn't rubberstamp [a request] just because a community wants to get from under its obligation [to veterans]."
David Bressem, the team leader at the federally funded Springfield Vet Center, offered a collaborative effort on the spot during the meeting. He told the group that unlike the local state-funded veterans' agents, his program is getting additional resources. He offered the center's mobile vet center, a 39-foot converted recreational vehicle that can go to any city or town with a counselor to help address issues.
There is no cost for this outreach effort and he added they will even supply popcorn and hot dogs for a special event.
Although the close to two hour meeting may not have yielded many concrete results, one Springfield veteran Gumersindo Gomez said this was the first such meeting in 10 years among veteran service providers from throughout the area and was a beginning for a continued conversation.
"It is in your interest ... if you can begin that regional problem-solving you will be ahead of the curve," Murray said.
