Top 10 Veterans Stories in Today’s News

From the VA:

1.      Shinseki Announces $41.9 Million In Grants To House Homeless Veterans. In a Business Wire release (10/1), VA Secretary Shinseki announced that 40 states will share over $41.9 million “in grants to community groups to provide 2,568 beds for homeless Veterans this year. ‘”These investments will provide transitional beds to Veterans who have served honorably, but for various reasons now find themselves in a downward spiral toward despair and homelessness. These grants wouldn’t have happened without the extraordinary partnerships forged with community organizers,’ said VA Secretary Eric K. Shinseki. ‘These investments will provide transitional beds to Veterans who have served honorably, but for various reasons now find themselves in a downward spiral toward despair and homelessness.” The program provides grants and per diem payments to assist public and non-profit organizations run supportive housing and service centers for homeless veterans.

 2.      Shinseki’s Presence At White House Event For Departing Emanuel. Main Justice (10/2), in reporting that, despite their differences, Attorney General Eric Holder attended a White House event for departing chief of staff Rahm Emanuel, mentions that VA Secretary Shinseki was among other Cabinet members “seated in the front row” at the Friday morning event.

 3.      Study: Virginia Veterans Lack Access To Mental Health Services. The Norfolk-based Virginian-Pilot (9/30, Reilly) reported that “a new study says many across Virginia often have trouble getting the services they need, especially adequate mental health treatment. The study, released Wednesday by the Virginia Department of Veterans Services, is the first in recent memory to look comprehensively at veterans’ needs in the commonwealth. While most of its findings came as no surprise to the state officials who commissioned it, the research will go a long way in helping to secure money to better serve veterans, said Catherine Wilson, executive director of the Virginia Wounded Warrior Program.” The survey, carried out by Virginia tech researchers, identified as the most under-served the state’s southwestern portion, where a new $900,000 federal grant will fund new programs.

 4.      VA Contracts Issued. TCMNet (10/1) lists contracts that federal agencies have awarded to California companies, including four from the Department of Veterans Affairs. They vary in size from $4.29 million from the National Cemetery Administration to “raise, realign, reset and clean flat markers” in Honolulu, to a $62,441 contract for hemodynamic monitoring systems at the Leavenworth, Kansas VA Heartland Network.

 5.      Joint Chiefs Chairman Urges Community Vet Support For Returning Vets. The AP (10/1, Christie) reports that, speaking Friday in Tucson, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff “says the military continues to struggle with high suicide rates, and returning Iraq and Afghanistan veterans need more help from local communities in getting over the stress of deployments.” Admiral Mike Mullen “says hundreds of thousands of returning vets have at least some level of post-traumatic stress,” adding that the Defense and Veterans Affairs departments “are working to help them but that local communities are even more important to their recovery. Mullen says communities need to reach out to service members as they return into civilian life after years of deployments overseas.”

 6.      Wilkes-Barre Conference Will Focus On Military Families. The Scranton (PA) Times-Tribune (10/1) announces that a National Family Week half-day conference in Wilkes-Barre, “When Families Reunite: Overcoming Trauma Issues after Military Service,” will be presented on November 17 by the Family Service Association of Wyoming Valley in cooperation with the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Plains Twp. and the Vet Center in Scranton.

 7.      Memphis VAMC Will Host Women Veterans Conference. The Memphis Daily News (10/4, Shoptaw) reports that on October 16 the Christian Brothers University will host a “Raising the Flag: Women Veterans Conference” designed to help women veterans smoothly transition to a non-military lifestyle and will provide a forum to support the professional and personal growth of women veterans. Besides the university, other sponsors for the event are Vet Center Memphis and the Memphis VAMC Women’s Clinic.Economists

 8.      Revises Upwards Veterans’ Health Costs, Makes Recommendations To Hill Panel. The website for Insurance News Net (10/1) posts the testimony of Joseph E. Stiglitz and Linda J. Bilmes, authors of “The Three Trillion Dollar War: The True Cost of the Iraq Conflict,” to the House Veterans Affairs Committee revising their costs estimates and recommending the creation of a trust fund and other measures. The testimony states that the VA “does not have the capacity to fully estimate its long-term obligations, and even with the best will in the world, this may result in insufficient funding.” It recommends that, to better forecast regional impact and infrastructure needs, the agency be “directed to work with the Institute of Medicine to develop a better system of forecasting the amounts and types of resources needed to meet veterans’ needs in 30 years or more, when their needs are likely to peak.”

 9.      Veterans Affairs Chairman Proposes Trust Fund For Veterans’ Health Costs. In continuing coverage, Medical News Today (10/1) summarizes several developments on VA health care, including the call by House Veterans Affairs chairman Rep. Bob Filner (D-CA) for the establishment of a trust fund to pay for veterans’ health care, revised estimates by economists that health costs for Iraq and Afghanistan veterans could exceed $900 billion, and the VA’s opposition, citing privacy concerns and the potential to make VA employees less wiling to report mistakes, to a bill that would require the agency to post medical quality assurance documents online.

 10.    Canadian Military Widows Hold Protests On Agent Orange Compensation. The Global Toronto (10/1) reports that on Friday, “Widows of soldiers affected by the deadly chemical Agent Orange held a protest outside” a New Brunswick armed forces base where Agent Orange was tested in the 1960s and 1970s. “The group Widows on a Warpath are fighting against what they believe is unfair compensation for the victims of chemical spraying.” The Canadian government agreed in 2007 to pay $20,000 to families of service members who before February 2006 fell ill or died from sprayings there; the widows’ group wants compensation for everyone affected by Agent Orange.