×
X logo

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox.

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)

You may opt-out anytime by clicking "unsubscribe" from the newsletter or from your account.

W.Va. Department of Veterans Assistance Opens Field Office in Bethlehem

Several dozen people turned out Tuesday morning for a formal ribbon-cutting ceremony and open house at the new West Virginia Department of Veterans Assistance field office.

WVDVA Cabinet Secretary Dennis Davis, who participated in the event at the new facility in Village Plaza on East Bethlehem Boulevard, said the agency wanted to let veterans in the Northern Panhandle know it was opening the office and invite them to stop and talk with officers about the services and benefits it provides. The agency assists veterans with the receipt of federal and state offerings, such as medical benefits, educational assistance and cash awards.

“Every veteran should make sure that he or she is taking advantage of the opportunities and benefits that are available,” Davis said. “We have tremendous officers in every region of West Virginia, and they provide critical services to our state’s veterans.”

WVDVA helps bring $1.9 billion per year in cash and benefits to veterans in the state. It is seeking more modern, accessible locations for many of its field offices statewide. It operates 16 field and claims offices that hold about 5,800 in-person and 9,000 telephone consultations with veterans each month.

The agency’s Chief of Staff Randy Coleman said it acts a liaison between veterans and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and assists veterans with getting state benefits. He said a tremendous amount of good work comes from the state field offices.

“There is re-education money if they want to go back to school,” Coleman said of one of the benefits.

The Wheeling field office had been on the third floor of the former Human Resource Center/Sears Building downtown. It moved to the location in Bethlehem to improve the level of services it could offer veterans and provide easier access to the department’s service officers. The new office — which opened a couple of months ago — is in the same plaza as the local Veterans Affairs office. According to John Powell, a 20-year Navy veteran and Local Post 1 Commander, the location is good because the two often work hand-in-hand. The old office also had some challenges, he said.

“Unless you knew a veteran who knew where they were, it was hard to find,” Powell said.

He also said the previous location, because of limited parking and other factors, could be difficult for disabled veterans to access.

“Right next door you have the Veterans (Affairs) Center ,” Powell said of the new location. “There’s so many programs that the West Virginia Department of Veterans Assistance runs. … It’s a little known thing that if you’re a veteran but you don’t have an educational benefit, but you want to get retrained in a certification program, they’ll help pay for that. … Those little things, people don’t know about.

“The more we reach out to veterans and the more veterans are educated and the more they know, the more we can help,” he said.

Michael Novotney –a veterans outreach specialist with the federal office who was asked to participate in the ribbon cutting ceremony along with the office’s director, John Looney — said the location of the new office makes for a good partnership within the community.

“With them being close to us in proximity makes it a lot easier for us to refer veterans up to them and for them to refer veterans to us,” he said.

NEWSLETTER

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)
Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper? *

COMMENTS

Starting at $4.73/week.

Subscribe Today