Benefits & Assistance
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Project New Hope Inc
"Project New Hope exists to provide veteran retreats. Including the whole family (even
the kids!) is unique to Project New Hope and fosters family togetherness through a wilderness getaway." Bill
Moore, M.A., President & CEO
P.O. Box 91
Leicester, MA 01524 www.Projectnewhopema.org |
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Falmouth Military Support Group
"It is the Falmouth Military Support Group’s mission to provide moral and physical
support to our areas service members serving abroad and also when they return home." P.O. Box 2247
Teaticket, MA 02536
falmouthmilitarysupportgroup@gmail.com
www.FMSGrp.org |
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University of MA Boston
The Veterans Upward Bound Program Assists Veterans of all ages to prepare
for College, GED, Prep Courses etc... (Posted
8/3/11) |
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Hire Patriots MA
Wilford Corey is the regional sponsor for
Hire Patriots in Massachusetts and is dedicated
to helping G.I.s, vets, and their families in the area. Hire Patriots is a free outreach to our worthy and honorable
US Military, Veterans and their families. The Hire Patriots program helps them earn money when they are in and out
of the Service with our Local One Day job boards and our National Full Time job board. We also hold job fairs,
military marriage retreats and various wounded warrior programs. Our goal is to support our military and their
families; and to help them to return to civilian life as productive and healthy citizens. (Posted
8/3/11) |
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Burial Benefits
Find out the facts about your VA Burial Benefits for veterans & Spouses
1-866-508-5834. The new vets center at 474 W Main St in Hyannis will
assist you with paperwork. Phone: 508-788-0124 (Posted
8/3/11) |
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Veteran College Tuition Waiver
Attention college bound Veterans' seeking the Veterans' Tuition Waiver,
the state of Ma. charges $131.50 per credit hour (This is subject to change). Of that $24 is tuition and $107.50 is
fees. ONLY THE TUITION PART IS WAIVERED, FEES MUST BE PAID. The Schools have no say in the matter, it is dictated by
Law. However, members of the National Guard from MA Deployed overseas do
get a full Waiver of fees and tuition. Call Cape Cod C.C. at 508-362-3672 (Posted
8/3/11) |
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State of MA
Public Assistance, Chapter 115
Under Chapter 115 of Massachusetts General Laws (M.G.L. ch. 115), the Commonwealth provides a uniform program of
financial and medical assistance for indigent veterans and their dependents. Qualifying veterans and their
dependents receive necessary financial assistance for food, shelter, clothing, fuel, and medical care in accordance
with a formula which takes into account the number of dependents and income from all sources. Eligible dependents of
deceased veterans are provided with the same benefits as if the veteran were still living. (Posted
8/3/11) |
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Claims Appointments
Monday at 2 p.m. a VFW member will be filing claims at the Vets Center at 474 W.
Main Street If you would like an appointment call (508)774-0124 (Posted
8/3/11) |
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VA Grants Benefits to All Vets with ALS
New GI Bill Frequently Asked Questions
The following FAQs are provided by the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA), the nation's first and
largest group dedicated to the troops and veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan:
Click Here A Good Look at the
New GI Bill.
As with most new veteran benefit laws, the Post 9/11 GI Bill has some good, some bad, and some down right ugly
aspects. The following is a brief look at each of these areas. Van Drivers
Needed To Transport Veterans To Area VA Hospital, You Need Not Be A Veteran, Please Call Clinic At-508-771-3190 (Posted
8/3/11) |
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New Website
Benefiting Veterans One-on-one assistance with VA claims, PTSD referrals,
possible chemical exposure, health concerns, depression, family counseling and assisting their families as well.
Visit Benefiting Veterans (Posted
8/3/11) |
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VA To Start Enrolling Category 8 Vets In June
In a recent press release, the VA "Announced plans to begin partially
opening up the health care system to new Category 8 veterans by increasing the income threshold by about 10 percent.
New Category 8 veterans - those with incomes above a geographically adjusted amount of approximately $29,000 - have
been prevented from enrolling in the VA system since January 2003." However, the "110th Congress gave" the VA "an
extra $375 million in funding to begin opening up the system." The VA "is expected to begin enrolling these veterans
in June." (Posted 8/3/11) |
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Dial-A-Lawyer
The Massachusetts Bar Association will host a supplement to its
Dial-A-Lawyer programming with a session dedicated solely to veterans’ legal questions for two hours on Thursday,
April 29. During the two-hour event, volunteer attorneys man the phone lines and answer veterans’ questions
regarding benefits, divorce, child support, employment and landlord/tenant issues.
The free Veterans Dial-A-Lawyer program, a part of the MBA’s Serving Our Veterans in the Law initiative, will take
place from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. that day. 617-338-0610 (Posted
8/3/11) |
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VA Agrees to Review Gulf War Illness Claims
Unable to ignore the sheer number of complaints,
The
Department of Veterans Affairs has decided to revisit the disability claims of thousands of veterans of the Gulf
War. According to advocacy groups more than 200,000 military personnel who served in the 1990-1991 conflict have
reported multi-symptom illnesses. The VA’s Gulf War Veterans’ Illnesses Task Force has been conducting a
comprehensive examination of health problems affecting veterans and may soon recommend new policies for how the
department should handle such cases. (Posted
8/3/11) |
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Agent Orange
The government is offering to examine Cold War American troops who served
in Korea three decades ago for possible exposure to the defoliant Agent Orange.
In a little-publicized initiative, the Veterans Affairs Department expanded a program previously offered to Vietnam
War veterans to include people who served in Korea in 1968-69. Visit
Public Health for additional information (Posted
8/3/11) |
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Filing for Disability
VA Encourages Affected Vietnam Veterans to File Claims WASHINGTON – The Department of Veterans
Affairs (VA) has begun distributing disability benefits to Vietnam Veterans who qualify for
compensation under recently liberalized rules for Agent Orange exposure. “The joint efforts of
Congress and VA demonstrate a commitment to provide Vietnam Veterans with treatment and compensation
for the long-term health effects of herbicide exposure,” said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K.
Shinseki. Up to 200,000 Vietnam Veterans are potentially eligible to receive VA disability
compensation for medical conditions recently associated with Agent Orange. The expansion of coverage
involves B-cell (or hairy-cell) leukemia, Parkinson’s disease and ischemic heart disease. Shinseki
said VA has launched a variety of initiatives – both technological and involving better business
practices – to tackle an anticipated upsurge in Agent Orange-related claims. “These initiatives
show VA’s ongoing resolve to modernize its processes for handling claims through automation and
improvements in doing business, providing Veterans with faster and more accurate decisions on their
applications for benefits,” Shinseki said. Providing initial payments – or increases to existing
payments – to the 200,000 Veterans who now qualify for disability compensation for these three
conditions is expected to take several months, but VA officials encourage all Vietnam Veterans who
were exposed to Agent Orange and suffer from one of the three diseases to make sure their
applications have been submitted. VA has offered Veterans exposed to Agent Orange special access
to health care since 1978, and priority medical care since 1981. VA has been providing disability
compensation to Veterans with medical problems related to Agent Orange since 1985. In practical
terms, Veterans who served in Vietnam during the war and who have a “presumed” illness do not have
to prove an association between their illnesses and their military service. This “presumption”
simplifies and speeds up the application process for benefits. The three new illnesses – B-cell
(or hairy-cell) leukemia, Parkinson’s disease and ischemic heart disease – are added to the list of
presumed illnesses previously recognized by VA. Other recognized illnesses under VA’s
“presumption” rule for Agent Orange are:
- Acute and Subacute Transient Peripheral Neuropathy
- Chloracne
- Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia
- Diabetes Mellitus (Type 2)
- Hodgkin’s Disease
- Multiple Myeloma
- Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma
- Porphyria Cutanea Tarda
- Prostate Cancer
- Respiratory Cancers
- Soft Tissue Sarcoma (other than Osteosarcoma, Chondrosarcoma, Kaposi’s sarcoma, or
Mesothelioma)
- AL Amyloidosis
Veterans interested in applying for disability compensation under one of the three new Agent
Orange presumptive should go Here or call 1-800-827-1000 (Posted
8/3/11) |
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