Hidden benefit gives Veterans Cash
The Veteran's Aid & Attendance Special Pension
A Little known program that has been around since 1951, and provides monthly cash assistance to qualified veterans, their spouses and widows who need regular help with daily living, whether at home or in a care facility. There's about $3 billion for this program but only 1 percent of veterans are receiving it.
Index of Information
VA Contact Numbers
VA Returning Veterans Website
VA Medical Hardship Plan
VA 2009 Federal Benefits For VeteransVA Health Care Eligibility Calculator
VA Dependent & Survivors Benefits
VA Survivor Benefit Termination
Vietnam Veterans Virtual Memorial Wall
Vietnam Service Medal
Suicide Prevention Resources
Evaluation of VA Suicide Prevention Program
VA Vocational Rehabilitation Update
STOLEN VALOR WEBSITE: Report those falsely claiming to have served.
U.S. SAVINGS BONDS: 17 Billion in unclaimed Series EEE Bonds, are some of them yours?
The O*NET program
Purple Heart Project for Wounded Warriors
Attention Post Members, Veterans and Legionnaires, we need Volunteers
Volunteer Service About Voluntary Service
The American Legion has been a staunch supporter and active participant in the Department of Veterans Affairs Voluntary Service (VAVS) program since its inception in 1946. Today, across the country we have close to 7,000 volunteers that serve over 900,000 hours annually at various VA Medical Centers, Community Based Outpatient Centers, Vet Centers, Nursing Homes, State Veterans Homes, and many more locations in support of our hospitalized veterans. In every VA Medical Center, there are American Legion VAVS Representatives and Deputy Representatives that attend quarterly hospital meetings and coordinate volunteers and donation needs lists with their local community American Legion posts. Anyone can volunteer, for information concerning individual or post participation, you can contact the Chief of Voluntary Service at the local VA Medical Center. They arrange initial screenings and help veterans in choosing the program that best meets their needs. The volunteer would ultimately decide where they want to volunteer and how they want to volunteer (be regularly scheduled or serve on an occasional basis).
In the constantly evolving environment of VA health care delivery, there is an abundance of opportunities for everyone to contribute as a volunteer in your own way and for your own reasons. In the VA hospital and Polytrauma Centers, a volunteer can provide administration support, escort patients, be a food court ambassador, coffee server, information desk worker, shuttle driver and help with the veterans history project. In the community, you can volunteer at the Fisher House, Community Based Outpatient Clinic and at a Vet Center.
Veterans Affairs Voluntary Service Handbook
Veterans Affairs Voluntary Service Power Point Presentation
National Volunteer Services
http://www.nationalservice.gov/
National Community Service (Veterans)
Veterans should know that President Obama recently signed the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act, which includes a provision by Rep. Phil Hare, Illinois Democrat, to create a Veterans Corps. The Veterans Engaged for Tomorrow Corps Act was co-authored by Mr. Hare and Rep. John Sarbanes, Maryland Democrat. It will establish a service corps, similar to AmeriCorps or Senior Corps, for veterans by veterans. http://thomas.loc.gov/ search for HR 1401
Asbestos And The Military
Asbestos was one of the most widely used materials in the United States for construction, right up through the 1960s. It was used not only for insulating material but for a variety of plumbing fixtures and support devices. Growing evidence of severe health problems among those exposed to asbestos led to its eventual ban for use in any product. The most serious impact of asbestos exposure is mesothelioma, a lethal form of cancer that usually develops in the lungs.
The disease can take decades to develop after exposure to asbestos. Thousands of people that have developed mesothelioma have sued asbestos mining and manufacturing firms; to the extent that several have been driven into bankruptcy and billion dollar funds have been established to compensate those who can prove health damage. One of the issues in these lawsuits is the fact that many asbestos manufacturers and product users failed to warn the people who were being exposed when the knowledge of asbestos toxicity began to develop.
This has been true particularly in the military. 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 Navy in particular employed asbestos in the design and construction of their ships. Thousands of Navy personnel were thus exposed to asbestos fibers and asbestos-related health problems have been higher among Navy veterans who worked in shipyards than among others.
Other veterans who were deployed on U.S. bases constructed during WW II have also been found to have suffered asbestos exposure, as it was widely used during the hurried construction of barracks and other base facilities during that era. Many of those buildings were employed through the seventies, until asbestos exposure was found to be so toxic that, in many cases, buildings containing it were declared unfit for use.
For more details and resources available on this subject please visit the link below.
http://www.mesotheliomawatch.org/
Defense Department Officials List Stimulus Act Projects
Defense Department officials today announced 3,000 projects that the economic stimulus legislation signed last month will fund. A complete list of the projects is available at http://www.defenselink.mil/recovery and at http://www.recovery.gov. Defense officials will continue to use those Web sites to post future announcements.
Wounded Warriors may be able for Social Security disability benefits. The Social Security Administration established an expedited claims process for servicemembers who were disabled on or after Oct. 1, 2001, regardless of where or how the disability occurred. Individuals in the military can apply for and receive benefits even while receiving military pay.
Visit the Social Security Administration's Disability Benefits for Wounded Warriors website to find out everything you need to know about Social Security and military service, including a link to apply for disability benefits online.
Web Site: http://www.socialsecurity.gov/woundedwarriors/
Social Security Disability And The SSI Programs
Helpful info for disabled individuals filing a claim for disability
http://www.socialsecuritylaw.com/the-book-on-social-security-disability.pdf
Appeals process
http://www.ssa.gov/pubs/10041.html
Compassionate Allowances
Social Security has an obligation to provide benefits quickly to applicants whose medical conditions are so serious that their conditions obviously meet disability standards. Compassionate allowances are a way of quickly identifying diseases and other medical conditions that invariably qualify under the Listing of Impairments based on minimal objective medical information. Compassionate allowances allow Social Security to quickly target the most obviously disabled individuals for allowances based on objective medical information that we can obtain quickly.Additional Information Can Be Found at these sites:
http://www.socialsecurity.gov/compassionateallowances/conditions.htm
https://secure.ssa.gov/apps10/poms.nsf/lnx/0423022000!opendocument
Additional Benefits for
Active Duty Time Served
DD FORM 214-SOCIAL
SECURITY BENEFIT
From: Social Security Administration (SSA)
Please share this with anyone who's had active duty service between January 1957 to December 31, 2001 and planning for retirement.
In a nutshell it boils down to this: You qualify for a higher social security payment because of Military service, for active duty any time from 1957 through 2001 (the program was done away with 1 January 2002). Up to $1200 per year of earnings credit credited at time of application - which can make a substantial difference in social security monthly payments upon your retirement.
You must bring your DD-214 to the Social Security Office and you must ask for this benefit to receive it! Social Security website: http://www.ssa.gov/retire2/military.htm this is something to put in your files for when you apply for Social Security down the road... It is NOT just for retirees, BUT anyone who has served on active duty between January1957 to December 31, 2001. FYI - this benefit is not automatic, you must ask for it!
National Association of Atomic Veterans, Inc.( A Non-profit Veteran’s Assistance Organization )
The NAAV Mission Purpose NAAV was founded in August, 1979 by the late Orville E. Kelly ( of Burlington, Iowa ) for the purposes of allowing the U. S. Atomic Veteran Community to speak, with a single voice, to their inability to get a fair hearing related to their developing ( radiogenic ) health issues that may have been precipitated by their exposure to “ionizing” radiation while participating in a nuclear weapon test detonation, or a “post-test” event. From the beginning, and to date, we continue to pursue our purpose to this dedicated cause.
Who is an Atomic Veteran
Atomic Veterans were members of the United States Armed Forces who participated in atmospheric and underwater nuclear weapons tests from 16 July, 1945 to 30 October 1962.
They also include veterans who were assigned to post test duties, such as “ground zero” nuclear warfare maneuvers & exercises, removing radiation cloud samples from aircraft wing pods, working in close proximity to radiated test animals, de -contamination of aircraft and field test equipment, retrieval and transport of test instruments & devices, and a host of other duty assignments that provided an opportunity for a radiation exposure & contamination event.
Also included are military personnel who were a part of the Occupation Forces assigned to Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan soon after the detonation of Atomic-Bombs over those respective cities, and those American prisoners of war ( POW’s ) who were housed in close proximity to those cities. These Veterans fit the VA’s “official” description of an Atomic-Veteran. Website:
PRESCRIBING HEARING AIDS AND EYEGLASSES
It is VHA policy that all enrolled veterans and those veterans exempt from enrollment are eligible for medical services that include diagnostic audiology and diagnostic and preventive eye care services, and that the prescription and provision of hearing aids and eyeglasses must be furnished to all eligible veterans in accordance with the parameters and criteria defined in this Directive.
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) not only covers eye examinations and audiology tests and writes eyeglass and hearing aid prescriptions for all its eligible patients. In many cases it also covers eyeglasses and hearing aids---even for some non-service-connected Priority 5 and 7 patients (generally, veterans honorably- or generally-discharged after at least two years’ service with incomes under about $35,000). The little-known Veterans' Health Administration Directive 2002-039 of July 5, 2002 [paragraph 4.a.(1)]
For Details Visit Here:
http://www1.va.gov/vhapublications/ViewPublication.asp?pub_ID=1789
TRICARE4U:
TRICARE4u.com website is the online resource for Tricare for Life (TFL) and Overseas beneficiaries and providers. The site allows both the beneficiary and provider to view claim status, their explanation of benefits, contact customer service in a secure environment and view patient eligibility. Those who have not logged onto their TRICARE4U account recently will be prompted to change their password the next time they visit the site. The requirement to change passwords is due to recent system upgrade, and all registered TRICARE4U users (beneficiaries, providers and government users) will receive the automatic prompt. To start the password change process, sign-in at http://www.tricare4u.com with your username and latest password.
Overview
A high-level overview about TRICARE's organization, plans and eligibility requirements.
