Monterey, CA Veterans Waiting For Benefits To Be Approved – One Waited 20 Years
by Richard Kuehn on 06/16/13
View From A Non-Profit Serving Seniors In Carmel,
Carmel Valley, Gonzalez, Greenfield, King City, Marina, Monterey, Pacific
Grove, Pebble Beach, Salinas, Seaside and Soledad California
The
inability of veterans to tap into benefits because of the massive red tape at
the Veterans Administration (VA) which has caused a huge backlog continues to
make front
page news. USA Today profiled
Michael "Mickey" Flynn who filed a disability claim over 15 months
ago and shares company with more than 850,000 veterans who have filed claims
but not received an answer on whether they have been approved. The troops returning from Afghanistan and Iraq
in huge numbers have only made the problem worse. This is a sad situation and totally
unacceptable. I hope something can be
done about it. Two-thirds of the Senate
and a third of House members have signed letters to the President demanding
improvements, but it's still a mess.
Thankfully, the VA has approved overtime and has workers looking at the oldest
cases. Unbelievably, when they took a
closer look they found a case which was 20 years old and still pending. This should not be happening in America.
About
Richard Kuehn & Hands to Help Seniors:
After more than a decade of caregiving, both
in a professional environment and for a 97 year old family member, it became
clear to me that there are many seniors that can't afford to pay for a private
duty caregiver, not to mention medical expenses, food and property taxes on
their home. I decided to form a non-profit to help seniors with any
service they might need to get by, should they be unable to afford this
themselves. From putting on a new roof to providing a hot meal, Hands to
Help Seniors is there to help. Please visit my blog where I talk about
important senior issues at:
http://www.h2hs.org/news-and-media.html
Please note that this blog reflects my
personal opinion and may or may not reflect the opinion of Hands to Help
Seniors and the individual members comprising the Board of Governors.
