For many military veterans, there has long been an information gap between veterans and the medical services they are entitled to receive.
“Many veterans have no idea,” says Jim Richardson.
That’s where Richardson comes in.
For 19 years now, as the Lowndes County Veterans Service Officer, Richardson has worked to fill that gap, providing the information on available medical services to veterans and their spouses or widows and helping them navigate through a sea of red tape that often accompanies those services.
“That’s especially true for veterans who left the service before 2000,” Richardson says. “Since then, it is required that when a veteran leaves the service, he is given a briefing on the medical benefits he is entitled to.”
Even with that, the role of Veterans Service Officers is a often critical facilitator between the veteran and the V.A.
This week, Richardson and more than 80 other Veterans Service Officers and their assistants are in Columbus for the required annual re-certification. The 16 hours of training, provided over three days, concludes today.
Although he has almost 20 years of experience, the re-certification is as valuable to Richardson as it is to a new Service Officer.
“Without a doubt,” Richardson says. “The rules and regulations change almost every day, it seems. So we are learning things that help us help our veterans every time we go through this training.”
Richardson says there are roughly 5,000 veterans who have had or are currently receiving V.A. Medical care in Lowndes County.
“And there that many veterans who haven’t received any V.A. care yet, but may need it. Then there are probably a lot of veterans who need that care, but aren’t aware of their benefits. That’s really the most important thing about my job — making sure veterans know what is out there for them.”
Veterans in the Golden Triangle who have questions about medical benefits should call their county Veterans Service Officers. They are: Lowndes County, Jim Richardson, 327-2005; Oktibbeha County, Ammiana Kenard, 323-6155; Clay County, Charles Tollivar, 494-1554; and Noxubee County, Sarah Wells, 726-5423.
Slim Smith is a columnist and feature writer for The Dispatch. His email address is [email protected].
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