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New “red shirt” volunteers Ken and Amy Smith with Connecting the Dots for Veterans founders Dottie and John Adams. PHOTO/TERRY LLOYD
You may have seen Army veteran Helen” Dottie” Adams at various veterans and patriotic events around Osceola County, as part of the busy Osceola County Veterans Council honor guard. If that is not enough, for the last year, Dottie and her veteran husband John have been helping veterans with disabilities access their benefits through their notfor- profit Connecting the Dots for Veterans.
There are a variety of organizations that can provide no-cost help for veterans to access their benefits, including both state and Osceola County Veterans Services offices, and veteran organizations such as Disabled American Veterans (DAV) and the American Legion. Connecting the Dots for Veterans does not try to duplicate the efforts of those organizations, but helps ensure veterans are well prepared before they engage with the busy Veteran Service Officers (VSOs) that will put forth the formal paperwork into the Veteran Affairs system.
“I was a VSO with a veterans organization for many years. It can be so difficult to try and assemble all the documentation required to file a successful claim for a veteran, especially if a lot of time has passed since the veteran served. When one of our veterans goes to a VSO or the local VA with our white binder in hand, they know that veteran probably has what they need for a successful claim,” said Adams.
Connecting the Dots aims to “educate, engage, and empower” each veteran they encounter. Accessing veteran benefits can be a daunting task, and as with any bureaucracy, if one piece of information or documentation is missing, things can grind to a halt. This can be very frustrating to veterans who may be going through a tough time with a disability and trying to transition to civilian life at the same time. Issues of chronic poor health, mental health, and financial difficulties are often cited as factors causing veterans, as a group, to experience an over 50% higher rate of suicide compared to the general population “With the recent enactment of the PACT (Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics) Act, literally millions of veterans exposed to toxins, going back as far as the Vietnam War, are now eligible for benefits, but this also means the VA and the VSOs can be swamped with new claims,” said Adams.
During a recent Saturday afternoon “office hours” for Connecting the Dots at the St. Cloud Chamber of Commerce, two new volunteers, veteran Keith Smith, and his wife Amy, were undergoing “on the job” training. That afternoon John and William, both Vietnam veterans, were seeking help to access new benefits under the PACT Act.
“Every time a veteran starts getting into what they need to do to file a claim, it can bring back some very disturbing, painful memories, not only what specifically occurred, but also whatever bad things might have happened downstream in their lives, so we try to ease that difficult process,” said Adams.
For more information on Connecting the Dots and to make an appointment see https:// bit.ly/3UtQhVt
