Veterans Services Office celebrates first anniversary

Veterans Services Office celebrates first anniversary

Veterans from WWII to today are seeking assistance



FREEHOLD, NJ – The Monmouth County Veterans Services Office celebrates its first anniversary on Friday, Nov. 11, which is Veterans Day. Freeholder Amy A. Mallet, who steered the initiative, says the office has been an absolute success.



“Our dedicated veterans’ service officers have helped veterans and their families gain access to more than $175,000 in benefits that they are entitled to but had trouble getting on their own,” Mallet said. “This money is keeping people in their homes and saving lives.”



The county’s Veterans Services Office, CVSO, was created at no additional cost to taxpayers by training existing staff from the disabilities office and using existing office space. Currently, two veterans’ services officers meet daily with veterans to help them fill out paperwork and better understand the programs and services that they have access to as a result of their service to our country.



“Whether coming home from a current conflict or a member of the greatest generation or any veteran in between, we must do everything we can to show our gratitude to these men and woman and their families,” Mallet said.



In its first year of operation, the CVSO has:

· filed 180 compensation and pension claims with the United States Department of Veterans Affairs on behalf of veterans with 33 of the cases adjudicated by the VA so far;

· scheduled another 40 appointments to file claims with the VA;

· processed 1,112 unduplicated, incoming requests for information and assistance;

· referred veterans from World War II to the present day to counseling and resources for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), depression, service connected disabilities, peer to peer support and more.



“Veterans report that they are very pleased to have a local full service Veterans Services Office in Monmouth County,” Mallet said. “Instead of having to travel to Newark, local veterans and their families are able to ask for and receive the help that they need closer to home.”



The majority of veterans who have filed claims served “In Country” in Vietnam. Their claims range from service-related PTSD to illness and diseases related to Agent Orange exposure.



The veterans’ services officers have also assisted World War II veterans with compensation claims and counseling referrals for untreated PTSD due to combat engagement with enemy forces more than 65 years ago. Many of these veterans are now in their late 80’s and early 90’s.



“Most recently we have begun seeing young veterans who grew up in Monmouth County,” Mallet said. “They are beginning to visit the office and file claims for PTSD and other service connected disabilities.”



Many veterans are referred by the CVSO to the Vet2Vet program for peer supportive services for PTSD, depressions and other adjustment issues. All veterans in need of counseling are referred to services with no cost and with little or no wait time.

Training to be a better Not- For- Profit

M.E.N.D.4 MALE SURVIVORS OF MILITARY SEXUAL TRAUMA, Founder Wayne Edward May and Vice Chairman of our Board Steven Krietzberg are in New York City at The Foundation Center taken classes to help make our Not-For-Profit the best to serve our Veterans. Thanks to Wayne and Steven for this hard work.
Danielle Martin Volunteer Executive Director Art With A Heart NJ "The Art Program Of M.E.N.D. 4 MALE SURVIVORS OF MST

Help Us End Military Sexual Trauma Now.

The Military's Secret Shame - Newsweek

The Military's Secret Shame - Newsweek

Veterans Information Seminar

Time	Tuesday, March 29 · 7:00pm - 8:30pm
Location	Knights of Columbus, Council 1672 70 East Main Street Freehold, NJ   RSVP's are appreciated but not necessary. Please RSVP by calling 732-616-8855 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              732-616-8855      end_of_the_skype_highlighting or emailing vegand@verizon.net. Free informational seminar for Veterans and their families. keynote speaker will be Amy Mallet Light refreshments will be served and handouts will be provided. Topics to be covered include: *Medical, mental health and social services offered by the U.S. Dept. of Veterans Affairs, N.J. Dept. Military & Veterans Affairs and Monmouth County Veterans Services. *Non-profit and for-profit organizations that may assist veterans to get the services they need, when ineligible for certain programs. Please park in the side lot, or in the overflow parking lots located at Amboy Bank or the Elk’s Club across the street from the Knights of Columbus.    http://tinyurl.com/VETERANSINFO

Psychiatric service dogs

Psychiatric service dogs

Psychiatric service dogs

A psychiatric service dog is a specific type of service dog trained to assist their handler with a psychiatric disability, such as post-traumatic stress disorder or schizophrenia.
Although assistance dogs have traditionally helped with people with disabilities such as blindness or more recently deafness or mobility disabilities, there are a wide range of other disabilities that an assistance dog may be able to help with as well, including psychiatric disabilities.

Training

Like all assistance dogs, a psychiatric service dog is individually trained to do work or perform tasks that mitigate their handler's disability. Training to mitigate a psychiatric disability may include providing environmental assessment (in such cases as paranoia or hallucinations), signalling behaviors (such as interrupting repetitive or injurious behaviors), reminding the handler to take medication, retrieving objects, guiding the handler from stressful situations, or acting as a brace if the handler becomes dizzy.
Psychiatric service dogs may be of any breed or size suitable for public work. Some psychiatric service dogs are trained by the person who will become the handler- usually with the help of a professional trainer. Others are trained by assistance or service dog programs. Assistance dog organizations are increasingly recognizing the need for dogs to help individuals with psychiatric disabilities.

Accessibility

In the United States, the Americans with Disabilities Act defines a disability as "a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more of the major life activities of such individual," and therefore allows handlers of psychiatric service dogs the same rights and protections afforded to those with other types of service animals. Service dogs, including psychiatric service dogs, are allowed to accompany their handler in any location that is normally accessible to the public whether or not health codes or business policy normally would allow a dog to enter, provided the dog behaves properly and does not interfere with normal operations (e.g. barking, biting, defecating, or obstructing other people) or pose a direct threat to the safety of others.

Source

Description above from the Wikipedia article Psychiatric service dogs, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors here. Community Pages are not affiliated with, or endorsed by, anyone associated with the topic.