Tuscaloosa VA Medical Center
West Alabama Veterans Action Board to Hold Public Forum
January 11, 2017
WEST ALABAMA VETERANS ACTION BOARD TO HOLD PUBLIC FORUM
TUSCALOOSA – To better meet the needs of local veterans, local community leaders have begun a new endeavor with the goal to raise awareness, increase capacity, and connect resources available to veterans, transitioning service members, and their families in the Tuscaloosa community and eventually surrounding counties.
This endeavor, the West Alabama Veterans Action Board, is modeled as a “MyVA” board, which is a concept begun last year within the Department of Veterans Affairs to get local communities involved in meeting the needs of Veterans.
The board will consist of a maximum of 11 members, not including three VA representatives (Veterans Health Administration, Veterans Benefits Administration and National Cemetery Administration) who are ex-officio (non-voting members) who serve as advisors. The board will serve as a forum to increase awareness in the veteran community, service members, their families and their needs with an ultimate outcome in facilitating community relationships to address the needs of the veteran population.
The Board is being led by two co-chairs – Dr. Karl Hamner, Assistant Dean of the School of Social Work, University of Alabama; and Lt. Col (Ret.) Nicolas Britto, who is involved with several veterans service and military organizations. Paula Stokes, a Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Experience Office employee based in Alabama, works with the board as a liaison with the federal VA.
The initial work of the board will be to assess the needs of local veterans. The board will do this through several means including local public forums along with the Tuscaloosa VA Medical Center.
The first of these public forums will be held on January 24, from 10-11:30 a.m., in the Sports Atrium of Bldg. 137 at the Tuscaloosa VA. The purpose of this public forum is to learn about veterans’ needs beyond that of just health care or other services provided by their local VA, but also areas of focus such as transportation, unemployment, and education. The directors of the Tuscaloosa VA Medical Center, Montgomery Regional Office of the Veterans Benefits Administration, and the Montevallo National Cemetery Administration will also provide updates at the forum. There will also be claims staff from VBA at the forum to assist veterans with filing claims for compensation and pension or to check on the status of existing claims.
Britto says he sees the board and the public forums as a way to partner with not only the VA but all organizations in the community that have an interest in serving veterans.
“I am looking forward to working with the VA and our local veteran community to improve the quality of life for all veterans,” said Britto. “It is a privilege to serve on the board.”
Stokes is eager to assist the local board to achieve its goals with assistance from the Department of Veterans Affairs, and points out that the board is not managed by the VA but rather an independent entity that is collaborating with the VA.
“MyVA Community Veteran Engagement Boards are being formed across our states to provide a forum for local collaboration among public and private resources, services, and advocates to foster common goals, objectives, and actions to improve the experiences of the veterans in our communities,” said Stokes. “The boards, owned and led within the local communities, will serve to improve veteran outcomes by listening and responding to the veterans and their families in their communities.”
