Tag Archives: shinseki

Shinseki: cutting claims backlog a top priority

Posted on by Chris

From the Washington Times:

Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki (center) is greeted by veterans as the Charleston Vet Center in Charleston, W.Va. Image courtesy Associated Press

Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki said he is making it a top priority this year to tackle the backlog of disability claims that has veterans waiting months – even years – to get financial compensation for their injuries.

Among those waiting for relief are sick Vietnam and Gulf War veterans to whom the former Army commander feels a special allegiance.

“I’m a kid out of the Vietnam era, I just have enough firsthand knowledge of folks walking around with lots of issues. If there’s a generation of veterans that have had a tough row to hoe, it’s the Vietnam generation,” said Mr. Shinseki, 67, as he traveled through snowcapped mountains in Ohio and West Virginia between meetings with veterans.

Mr. Shinseki, a former Army chief of staff who had part of a foot blown off when he was a young officer in Vietnam, was unapologetic about a decision he made in October to make it easier for potentially 200,000 sick Vietnam veterans who were exposed to the Agent Orange herbicide to receive service-connected compensation.

He said it was the right thing to do, even though the volume of claims will grow and it will likely take about two years to get the average claim-processing wait time back to where it is today, about five months.

Read the full article here.

NASDVA Conference

Posted on by Chris

This week the Warrior Gateway team is here at the NASDVA (National Association of State Directors of Veterans Affairs) Mid-Winter Training Conference.

The conference has been great so far — this has been a great opportunity to meet a number of the State Directors and hear their concerns and the issues on the ground in state and local VA offices.

There have been a number of informative talks, most notably that given by VA Secretary Shinseki. He covered a wide range of topics, highlighting the issues at the top of his agenda as Secretary–fast-track processing of Agent Orange claims, combating veteran homelessness, and improved GI Bill processing.

Today Devin will be speaking to the conference about the ways in which the Warrior Gateway can assist state and local VA offices and particularly VSOs. If you don’t get a chance to speak with Devin after his talk and would like to get in touch, don’t hesitate to contact us.

You can view more photos from the event on Flickr.

Visible steps to address veteran homelessness

Posted on by Chris

As we enter December and temperatures continue to drop, we reach the season where survival can be acutely difficult for the homeless. The VA estimates that up to 131,000 veterans are homeless on any given night. This is clearly a time for serious thinking about how to address this persistent problem.

VA Secretary Eric Shinseki has publicly committed to working to end veteran homelessness within 5 years. In 2010 the VA will spend $3.2 billion to achieve this goal, with “as much as $500 million going to homeless programs and $2.5 billion to medical services,” according to the Washington Times.

Ending veteran homelessness is no doubt a hugely ambitious goal, but this weekend in the news we see a smattering of stories which provide some hope that substantive steps are being taken to help achieve that goal. A new homeless shelter is has been dedicated in Ventura, CA, which will have the capacity for 60 disabled and elderly veterans and was largely funded by the VA. In Shreveport, LA a similar facility is being opened by the Volunteers of America, with a capacity for 56 veterans. And finally, a 32-bed shelter will open today in Chicago in a ceremony attended by Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn and Illinois Asst. VA Secretary Tammy Duckworth.

As the Washington Times states,

Our time waiting for soldiers to return from war will be well spent if we are about the shared goal of protecting and defending our country. Protecting those least among us from the inhumane conditions of persistent poverty and defending their right to housing.

Warrior Gateway to present at US Chamber of Commerce event

Posted on by Chris

On Thursday November 12 the US Chamber of Commerce will be hosting an event titled “Business Steps Up: Hiring our Heroes.” As the title implies, the event will focus on strategies for hiring veterans, with and emphasis on “using new forms of social media to help service members find meaningful employment as they transition back into their communities.”

Secretary Shinseki, the keynote speaker at Business Steps Up

Secretary Shinseki. Photo courtesy of the VA

The keynote speaker will be the Honorable Eric Shinseki, Secretary of Veterans Affairs. The Warrior Gateway has also been asked to present. We will be discussing our Jobs component (learn more here), and how it will help veterans to understand how their military experience translates into useful skills in the civilian workforces, and will help employers to locate highly-qualified job candidates from the military community with the specialized skills and experience. We will be presenting for about 20 minutes, which will be followed by a Q&A session.

The event starts at 8am with a breakfast and registration. The program then begins at 8:30 and lasts until noon. It is located at the Chamber of Commerce headquarters at 1615 H St. NW. The event is open to the public and free of charge.

This will be a great opportunity to introduce the Warrior Gateway to a larger audience. If you’re looking to learn more about the Project this would be a great opportunity. You can register for the event here.