Veterans! Here’s your Top 10 News stories of the day compiled from the latest sources

We encourage you to browse our list so that you can take what you want and keep what you need

1. American Legion hosts President Obama Tuesday in Mpls..  KARE  “One of the problems we’ve seen is that returned veterans in many cases don’t know about our Workforce Centers or choose not to use them,” Barb Riley of the state Dept. of Veterans Affairs told KARE. “We’re working to collaboration with DEED and …

2. VA seeks help with Homeless Stand Down.  LubbockOnline.com  The US Department of Veterans Affairs invites volunteers and donations to help with the Homeless Stand Down, to be hosted from 8 am to noon Oct. 22 at One 9 Sports Park, 205 E. 19th St., in building 300. The US Department of Veterans Affairs invites …

3. Veterans center breaks ground for new hospice. PennLive.com The Coatesville Veterans Affairs Medical Center is one of 153 medical centers under the US Department of Veterans Affairs. The center has programs for mental health, geriatric care, dementia, substance abuse, post-traumatic stress disorder, …

4. Regional effort lands clinic for veterans. SouthtownStar  Some ideas should transcend politics, such as ensuring quality health care for the nation’s returning military veterans. Thus, last week’s news that the US Department of Veterans Affairs has agreed to buy a Silver Cross Hospital building in Joliet for …

5. Times civil war package narrative.  nwitimes.com  In 2005, the Sons, a fraternal group of Civil War veteran descendants, had applied for and received about a dozen new granite headstones from the US Department of Veterans Affairs. Those stones were for a Grand Army of the Republic burial plot in …

6. Program helps veterans adjust to college life.  The University of Alabama Crimson White  The program is free and is funded through the US Department of Veterans Affairs. “As a veteran myself, I would encourage veterans to enroll in programs like this,” Spencer said. “They put their life on the line for this country, and should have every …

7. New spinal facility to open at VA medical center.  Milwaukee Journal Sentinel  The new state-of-the-art $27.5 million spinal cord injury center at the Zablocki Veterans Affairs Medical Center is more than three times the size of the current facility. By Meg Jones of the Journal Sentinel The new $27.5 million spinal cord injury …

8. Marmet residents work to spruce up veterans memorial.  Daily Mail – Charleston  A group of Marmet residents took matters — and power washers — into their own hands when a local veteran expressed concern over the state of the city’s war memorial. They recently set to work on the aging structure in hopes …

9. Brown Appointments Favor Democrats.  San Jose Mercury News  “Gov. Jerry Brown is a quirky Democrat known to break from convention, but in one way his young administration looks all too predictable: He is seeding state government with fellow Democrats, political supporters and appointees linked to powerful labor groups that helped install him in office, an Associated Press review found.” Brown’s office “said in a statement that he makes appointments based on qualification, not campaign donations or party affiliation.” The Mercury News adds, “Prominent Republican appointees include Peter James Gravett, who was named secretary of Veterans Affairs.”

10. State Sen. Joe Leibham Tapped To Lead Panel. Sheboygan (WI) Press  “State Sen. Joe Leibham was appointed Friday to head a Senate committee on development and veterans, replacing a senator who was recalled earlier this month. Leibham, R-Sheboygan, will be chairman of the Committee on Economic Development, Veterans and Military Affairs, Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald announced.” The Press added, “Leibham replaces state Sen. Randy Hopper, who was one of two Republican state senators recalled Aug. 9 in the continuing reaction to Gov. Scott Walker’s move to eliminate most collective bargaining rights for public employees.”

Have You Heard?

Did you know that VA’s Health Services Research & Development Service (VA HSR&D) is working to support Secretary Shinseki’s pledge to end Veteran homelessness by 2014? VA HSR&D researchers are contributing to this critical goal by studying the many factors that contribute to homelessness, and looking at innovative ways of keeping Veterans permanently housed. Some of the factors include: rapid delivery of housing; better delivery of care and services to homeless veterans; outreach; a link between mental illness and homelessness as well as addiction. Researchers are also leveraging VA’s Electronic Medical Record to examine the epidemiology of homelessness among Veterans, as well as risk factors for Veterans compared to the general population. The data is also being used to create a method of detecting or identifying Veterans at risk for homelessness. For a detailed explanation of the research and efforts being undertaken by VA’s Health Services Research & Development, visit go.usa.gov/Krq.

More Veteran News

• Veterans Groups Preparing For Budget Fight.  San Diego Union-Tribune “After 10 years of war and expanded benefits for those who fought, veterans groups now are girding to battle against takeaways, as Congress considers sweeping budget cuts over the next four months.” The Union-Tribune adds, “The $130 billion VA budget will probably top the list of programs facing cuts, according to veterans advocates. With a pen stroke, Congress could nip here and dice there – without appearing to do much – and end up costing veterans who use the VA, said” Tim Tetz, the American Legion’s legislative director.

• Women Veterans Honored.  KIVI-TV “More than one hundred women gathered” at the Women Veterans Conference in Boise on Saturday to “honor and recognize their military service to our country.” Idaho’s First Lady Lori Otter “was there to present the award for Outstanding Idaho Woman Veteran of the Year” to Mary Kelly.

• Dallas Vet Struggles With Brain Injury, PTSD, VA Medical System. Dallas Morning News  After “three combat tours in Iraq,” Dallas police Officer Andrew Litz “suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and a traumatic brain injury.” Litz “relies on the strained medical services of the Department of Veterans Affairs, where psychological injuries and brain injuries compete with the ‘more real’ problems of amputations and other physical ailments.” But “Dr. Stephen Holt, the Dallas VA’s deputy chief of staff, said VA officials are doing everything they can to help Litz.”

• With Detroit Show, R&B Star Kem Shines Light On Plight Of Homeless People.  Detroit Free Press “Thousands of people gathered at Cass Park” on Sunday for a “concert to raise awareness about homelessness.” One of those in attendance at the concert was 53-year-old veteran William James, who “has been homeless for the last two months since losing his job of seven years as a quality inspector for a small auto parts company. He mostly relies on the Veterans Administration to feed him and provide him a place to sleep.”

• Wounded Soldier Rediscovers, Rebuilds Life.  Killeen (TX) Daily News  27-year-old disabled Iraq veteran Joshua L. Holm, who “found a purpose through the act of putting his story on paper. Late last year,” Holm “published his first book, ‘Some of My Life Lessons,’ which describes his troubled teenage years in Arkansas and his subsequent discovery of Jesus Christ.” Holm, who “held a book signing with his wife, Crystal, Saturday at Hastings Books in Killeen,” said the book is “about finding value in life even through the trials and tribulations.”

• County’s Homeless Single Adult Population Rises. Daily Californian  “While Alameda County has made great strides in preventing and reducing homelessness among families, veterans and the mentally ill, the number of homeless single adults has swelled since 2009, according to the results of a biannual census released last month. Conducted in January – by EveryOne Home, a nonprofit organization that coordinates the efforts of the county’s homeless agencies – the census shows little significant change in the absolute number of homeless individuals in the county.” The Californian adds, “Veterans’ homelessness has also been specifically targeted at the federal level, with US Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki making it his personal goal to end it by 2015…said” Elaine deColigny, executive director of EveryOne Home.

• By Night, Soldiers Photograph Graves.  AP  At the Arlington National Cemetery this summer, the US Army’s historic Old Guard has been photographing “more than 219,000 grave markers and the more than 43,000 names of cremated remains in the columbarium.” This is “part of the Army’s effort to account for every grave and to update and fully digitize the cemetery’s maps.”

• For First Time, White House May Miss VFW Event.  Houston Chronicle “Perry, Romney To Speak In S.A.” The Houston Chronicle “Texas On The Potomac” blog also runs the Express-News story, under the headline “Rick Perry, Mitt Romney To Address VFW This Week In San Antonio – But No Obama.”