GWINN, Mich. (WZMQ) – On Wednesday, the Gwinn VFW held a free lunch event providing outreach and Veterans Affairs assistance to some local heroes.
Since the PACT Act was signed just a few years ago, it’s brought a significant extension to VA services for all ages of veterans.
“Any time vets get together, it’s good for them,” said Timothy Ellison, Public Affairs Officer for the Oscar G. Johnson VA Medical Center. “If we can be there and add to that event by bringing knowledge, resources, enrollment, it’s all the better.”
U.P. Together with Veterans, in its 6th year of collaborations with VA assistance around the region, says a core focus on their events include veteran mental health and suicide prevention.
“Every different thing in life can affect mental health, and every organization here has something they can contribute to mental health,” said U.P. Together with Veterans President Carl Runstrom.
Additionally, the U.P. is the most remote location in the country served by any veteran affairs agency. It ties into something Representative Jack Bergman, who attended Wednesdays event, says he’s working on at the federal level to implement better regional classification.
“In my district, it takes me over ten hours to get from one end to another, so think about that in delivery of services,” he said. “You have urban, suburban, rural; we need to add ‘remote’ in the world in which we live.”
Bergman says these ideas are only being discussed, but the simple change could bring more attentiveness to this kind of assistance in the region.
