One-on-one advocacy for those who need it

Marine Corps veteran Jonathan Kirby was one of nearly 200 veterans seeking help at The American Legion’s Veterans Outreach Center (VOC) at the Washington DC VA Medical Center, Sept. 30-Oct. 1. Hoping to increase his disability rating, Kirby left the center feeling like he now has a strong advocate working for him – one that knows the Department of Veterans Affairs very well.

“When I got here, it was like (being welcomed) with open arms, and it’s a good feeling … to get that kind of welcome,” said Kirby, who was stationed in Beirut when two truck bombs struck a 1st Battalion 8th Marines' barracks, killing 241 U.S. servicemembers. “It seems like The American Legion … is more like on the attack as far as helping these veterans get what they honestly deserve and honorably deserve.”

Kirby and other veterans were able to meet one on one with Legion service officers and VA staff to check on existing benefits claims, file new ones, enroll in VA health care and even get free flu shots. For many, the one-on-one experience mattered the most.

Michael Rebok, a Vietnam War Army veteran and member of Legion Post 85 in Arlington, Va., received an email from the Legion about the VOC. He’d filed a VA claim more than four months ago and wanted to check on its status.

“They were great,” Rebok said of the VOC’s workers. “They pulled up everything and showed me everything. (The claim) is ready to be decided on.”

Rebok said he left the center with peace of mind knowing his claim wasn’t lost in the system. “That’s what I was afraid of,” he said. “Person to person is a lot better than dealing with an automated phone system.”

Veterans seeking help weren’t the only ones who came away from the center impressed. Jorge Acosta, a Red Cross volunteer helping out at the center, also liked what he saw. Acosta learned about what the Legion was doing at the hospital and volunteered specifically for the assignment.

“This is awesome, what’s being done today, and (it should be done) more often,” said Acosta, a U.S. Army retiree and member of Legion Post 82 in La Plata, Md. “(Veterans) provided so much service for the freedom of our country, so therefore it is our duty to do the same when they come back. It would have been very helpful for us Vietnam veterans when we came back from the war in the 1970s.”

The center is open until 8 p.m. today in Conference Room 4-C at the DC VAMC.

Check www.legion.org on Monday for a follow-up story on this week’s VOC.