Citizens must continue efforts to aid veterans

There is the belief that the U.S. Veterans Admin-istration (VA) is not there for our returning service men and women. We hear or read stories that seemingly confirm that notion. We often hear about the 6,100 soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan, but what we don’t hear about are the 170,000 cases of post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or the 550,000 validated disability claims cited in a 2010 Brown University report.
However, veterans are served. Communities in Massachusetts that have more than 12,500 citizens have a full-time veterans service officer. I am in my third term as the appointed Seekonk veterans agent. In the past three years, I have seen my case load increase by 200 percent, while my budget has increased by less than 10 percent. Services that are provided include public awareness and outreach teams that bring services to veterans.
Veterans service officers are tasked with wearing several hats: We are social workers, VA liaisons, work force readiness agents and burial officers. We work in conjunction with state and federal service providers and make home visits and hospital rounds. In short, we take care of those who have taken care of our country and our community.
The work to be done is important but it is not always supported. For example, the Massa-chusetts Legislature pass-ed a bill that was subsequently vetoed by the governor over pressure from Massachusetts Veterans Service Officer Association with support from other posts and organizations. The bill would have closed a home for soldiers in Holyoke that serviced 2,200 veterans in order to save $500,000.
Clearly, that home is an essential asset to the community, and the veterans who are served by it. Had the bill become law, it would have created a hardship for those who have already sacrificed for us, and it would have resulted in additional costs to taxpayers, local, state and nonprofit agencies that would have had to pickup some of the burden left by the closure of a residential facility for veterans.
We must not forget to continue to march for those who once marched for us and with us, but who might be unable to continue to march.


Seth Bai is the Seekonk veterans service officer. He served in the U.S. Marine Corps for nearly a decade and sits on the executive board of the Massachusetts Veterans Service Officers Assoc-iation. He can be reached at sbai@seekonk-ma.gov.