Taking the Time to Hear Our Veterans

New steps being taken to employ unemployed veterans, an update on progress at the new Green Bay veterans’ clinic, and finding ways to connect veterans with services were the primary topics of conversation at a veterans’ listening session held at the County Government Center on Dec. 13.

About 20 Door County veterans attended the session, which was headed by Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary John Scocos, Rep. Garey Bies, and Door County Veterans Service Officer Scott McFarlane.

Scocos told the assembled veterans that his office has been especially focused during 2012, which Gov. Scott Walker declared as the Year of the Veteran, on finding jobs for unemployed veterans.

According to Scocos, it’s believed that 12,000 Wisconsin veterans are currently unemployed. To try and bring that number down, the state hosted 16 job fairs for veterans this year, and is planning more for 2013, including two in Brown County.

“About 27 percent of the veterans who attended a job fair this year got jobs,” said Scocos. “And we don’t consider that a success, but it’s a good first step.”

Scocos’ office is also working to improve veterans’ résumés and connect veterans with specific skills to employers looking for those skills. He’s also pushing legislation that would allow veterans to apply for degrees in trades they practiced while serving, cutting out unnecessary school time.

“For so many years a welder who might’ve been a veteran in the Navy for 10 years comes back and he’s told, ‘Well you gotta go two more years in technical school,’” said Scocos. “That veteran might have more skills than instructors in some cases. So we’re looking…at how we can grant equivalencies for that.”

McFarlane provided an update on the progress at the new Veterans Affairs clinic in Green Bay. The clinic is projected to open next fall and will provide veterans with a closer option than the Appleton VA Clinic for outpatient care.

McFarlane said the clinic is a huge building that’s positioned in a great location, right next to the UW-Green Bay campus.

“The location where it ended up for our Door County veterans is absolutely fantastic,” said McFarlane. “Heck, we don’t even have to get on one of the major interstates. For our elderly drivers, where it’s a challenge to go anywhere else but they can still navigate [Highways] 42/57, it’s just great.”

There’s currently no procedure in place for veterans to transfer into the Green Bay clinic, but McFarlane told the audience they should talk to their current care provider and ask them to keep checking to see when transfers become available.

During the open forum portion of the discussion, the primary message conveyed was that veterans with questions about practically any topic should get in contact with McFarlane or someone else in the chain of veterans affairs.

McFarlane especially encouraged younger veterans to touch base with him as soon as they could after being discharged.

“That is that point of entry where not only do we get their discharge registered…but that is my first chance to start talking with them about employment and did they put that résumé together and how are you doing moneywise,” said McFarlane. “There’s this whole slew of things that should have either already been done or, if they haven’t, that’s where I’m checking to make sure we’ve gotten every benefit they’re supposed to get.”

“I just saw a study the federal veterans affairs office did that said 50 percent of veterans of all eras, and especially returning veterans, still don’t understand their benefits,” said Scocos. “Outreach is the name of the game.”

And while veterans can now apply for a number of their benefits online, McFarlane said every veteran should still be in contact with his office.

“Online is great to start, but we would prefer they start it with us…so we can give our professional advice,” said McFarlane.

One veteran in the crowd said the various veterans groups in the area also have a tough time connecting with younger returning veterans.

“There are a lot of them in the area that are coming back here and don’t have anything to do, and then sometimes they get in trouble,” said the veteran. “These guys get in their shells, and they need someone to help them.”

Anyone looking to contact McFarlane at the Veterans Service Office is encouraged to call 920.746.2225 or e-mail [email protected].