The Daily Item - April 1, 2010

http://www.thedailyitemoflynn.com/articles/2010/03/31/news/news03.txt

LYNN - First Sgt. John Bingham's Army career spanned his adult life and now the Lynn resident is devoting retirement to earning a liberal arts degree while helping young veterans get educations.

Bingham said men and women returning from service in Iraq and Afghanistan need help researching educational opportunities available to them as well as health and employment benefits. He said North Shore Community College, where he is studying, does a good job helping veterans.

"Everything is in place for the veteran at North Shore," Bingham said.

North Shore Community College President Wayne Burton, an Army veteran, estimated 300 to 500 veterans like Bingham are enrolled at North Shore. He told Governor's Advisory Council on Veterans' Services members Tuesday that these veterans required assistance sorting out recent changes in federal educational aid to veterans.

"They tell me the new GI Bill is working and we are working diligently to get them full academic credit for their military training," Burton said.

Lt. Gov. Timothy Murray said veterans services is one of the few state programs seeing spending increases during a year when declining tax dollar revenue is forcing cutbacks. "Even in the midst of this great recession we've level-funded, in some cases, expanding funding," he said.

But Murray and veterans' advocates said the 20,000 men and 10,000 women from Massachusetts who have served in the military since Sept. 11, 2001 need additional services, including educational benefits and aid to homeless veterans.

Bingham said Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a significant concern for local and state veterans service workers and organizations helping veterans. Organizations like Strength At Home work with veterans diagnosed with PTSD and their families to help them recognize the disorder's signs, including anger and communication problems that can lead to violence.

"Concerns about interpersonal conflict increase more than any other mental health concern when a veteran returns home. It's significant concern when a veteran returns home," Dr. Casey Taft said.
Taft and other Strength At Home doctors run counseling groups for veterans and spouses and work with veterans on techniques for controlling anger.

City Veterans Director Michael Sweeney and state Veterans' Services Secretary Thomas Kelley said their priorities include reaching out to veterans returning from overseas and making them aware of services available to them.

"Mike's doing an outstanding job," Bingham said.

Other organizations, including one founded by Ken Isaksen, has 800 members and another 4,000 linked together by online social networking sites.

"We're a new generation of veterans using the technology we have," Isaksen said.

State Sen. Thomas M. McGee said state legislators realize veterans need a variety of services. The state is studying expanding the Chelsea and Holyoke soldiers' home. The homes have 500 beds between them and the federal government has authorized adding an additional 800 beds with the government paying two-thirds of the construction cost associated with the expanded housing.

The Legislature also pushed to extend benefits to returning veterans allowing them to collect a bonus every time they return from extended military duty.

"Multiple deployments are extremely stressful on service members and their families, but this cash bonus is one way we can show our thanks," said state Senate veterans committee chairman Kenneth Donnelly.
 

- Thor Jourgensen