LANSING In an effort to help about 30,000 military veterans in the tri-county area access medical benefits, the state has implemented a Veterans Community Action Team for Ingham, Eaton and Clinton counties.
The Michigan Veterans Affairs Agency-backed program finds gaps in services and works to close those gaps by reducing duplication of efforts and simplifying connections with local resources, according to a news release from the Michigan Department of Military & Veterans Affairs.
Greater Lansing is first in the state for veterans educational and employment spending, at $440 per vet, but last in the state for medical spending, at $1,410 per veteran. The area has the states eighth-largest veteran population and the largest concentration of post-9/11 veterans, the release said.
There may already be service providers in the area who want to help veterans with medical issues, but we now need to find them and connect the two, MVAA Director Jeff Barnes was quoted as saying in the news release.
State Rep. Tom Barrett, R-Potterville, an Iraq War veteran himself, touted the expansion and said he was pushing for more veterans benefits in the Legislature.
During the wars in the Middle East, military servicemen and servicewomen were deployed in and out in rapid intervals, so it made it very difficult to lay down roots and establish a stable career back home, Barrett said. We need to do more outreach to the 9/11 community.
