Many Franklin County Veterans Now Avoid The Local Veterans Service Commission And Seek Help Elsewhere

[allan]

To: Franklin County Board & City of Columbus: This is shamelful, whatever you think you are doing, you need to re-think it. Columbus, Ohio is home to over 110,000 veterans.

Supporting & assisting veterans is more than a fancy painted Van, or newsletter. Recommend States Attorney & county auditor, closely review past budgets & practices. (s) ColonelDan

WALLACE W. SARTO - American Veterans (AMVETS)

Vice President of the Commission:

Wallace W Sarto serves as Vice President of the Franklin County Veterans Service Commission representing the AMVETS. He served in the United States Army from 1942 to 1946 serving as T-4. While serving his country he was awarded the American Theater Ribbon, Asiatic-Pacific Theater Ribbon the Good Conduct Ribbon and the WWII Victory Medal. He currently holds memberships with the following Veterans Organizations; American Legion Post 532, VFW post 4044, and the Moose Lodge 11. He serves on the War Orphans Scholarship Board as a member and on the AMVETS State Executive Committee. Commissioner Sarto grew up in Cambridge, Ohio and has lived in Columbus since 1938. Commissioner Sarto is retired and has served on the Franklin County Veterans Service Commission since 2000. Commissioner Sarto’s term will expire in 2013.

http://www.co.franklin.oh.us/vets/assets/pdf/journaWinter2009.pdf

Many Franklin County veterans now avoid the local veterans service commission and seek help elsewhere

Sunday, December 6, 2009 3:45 AM

By Barbara Carmen

THE COLUMBUS OHIO DISPATCH

http://www.dispatchpolitics.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2009/12/06/Copy/vet_commission_SIDE.ART_ART_12-06-09_A1_14FTFE1.html

As cancer ravaged Ralph Kinkead's lungs, the veterans agency that was supposed to offer him caring support -- and dollars for dignity and dinner -- gave him the cold shoulder.

He blames the Franklin County Veterans Service Commission for costing him his health, his home and nearly his life.

"They treated me bold and cold," the Vietnam veteran said. "They acted like, 'We don't give a (expletive) about you.' Between all the screw-ups and 'You have to go back and wait,' I didn't get help."

Kinkead, 62, and now in remission for small-cell lung cancer caused by exposure to Agent Orange, said he was able to get both a Social Security pension and a permanent veteran's disability only after turning to then-Rep. Deborah Pryce and driving an hour south.

Franklin County's agency didn't help much, but Pickaway County's was "wonderful," he said.

The director of the Pickaway office said she has more than 1,087 open cases of Franklin County veterans, many of whom complain that they weren't being served here.

"We're finding ways to help them with their claims," Rebecca Lee said. Her bosses are so frustrated with their resources being stretched to cover out-of-county residents, they asked her to keep a count. She found that a third of her customers live in Franklin County.

Douglas E. Lay, director of the Franklin County agency, said privacy laws bar him from discussing Kinkead's files. But he said the agency has helped many veterans, and many are grateful.

Wednesday morning, two dozen veterans sat in chairs in the waiting room of the agency waiting for a chance to plead their case for emergency help. While veterans can apply for federal benefits from any office, cash assistance such as grocery cards and mortgage vouchers must be obtained in the county where the veteran lives. That's because local property taxes pay for the aid.

None said they'd been treated poorly, but some said they had gotten less help than they had hoped. Most didn't want to give their names for this story. They said they didn't want to sour their chances with the board.

Franklin County Auditor Clarence Mingo, an Army veteran who was afflicted with Gulf War Syndrome, praised the service he received in the early 1990s.

"I found their service to be a lifeline when no other resources were available to me," Mingo said. "Because it serves a very important population in our community, it's important that they be fiscally responsible to assure that services to veterans continue."

Veterans Service officers say they must use tax dollars wisely, fix only short-term problems -- not become a permanent income source -- and decide who's telling the truth and who is scamming.

Lay said Kinkead was last in their office in 2006 and that they helped him apply for benefits from Cleveland's regional office. After that, they lost contact. Lay said it's a frustration for him that they don't receive any follow-up information from the regional office.

Kinkead, who authorized Pickaway County to release his medical and veterans records to The Dispatch, found his health draining away as he begged the local commission to help him qualify for benefits to buy groceries and pay rent.

He'd lost 50 pounds in a month. His caseworker didn't seem to notice and wouldn't file for the permanent benefits he needed, he said. He said the stress of dealing with the Franklin County agency worsened his post-traumatic stress disorder and took a toll on his health as he fought cancer. He worried that he would die and was concerned that his wife would be left penniless.

"All I asked is for someone to stop and help me. For God's sake, this is my life!" he wrote Pryce in 2004.

"In the last four years, I've had three jobs, due mainly to my health. No insurance, and my health has gotten so bad that I can only work seven to 30 hours a week. .. I have had to sell my home in 2003. Now, my wife and I live in a run-down, one-bedroom apartment."

It was a hard come-down for a man who'd survived a helicopter crash that beheaded a fellow soldier and was decorated for going into the battlefield more than 150 times to rescue and treat the wounded. Kinkead has flashbacks and nightmares.

Franklin County commissioners say they get a steady trickle of complaints about the agency, which is set to collect $4.9 million from the county next year but is run by an independent board.

"We get complaints that veterans aren't getting served," Commissioner Marilyn Brown said. "It's increasing: They couldn't get an appointment. They couldn't get in. They couldn't get what they need. Nobody was paying attention to them."

"Keep on, Keepin' on"

Dan Cedusky, Champaign IL "Colonel Dan"

See my web site at:

http://www.angelfire.com/il2/VeteranIssues/

[vmo]

The Ohio Gov. Office of Veterans Affairs is just right down the street from the Franklin County Veterans Office. Supposedly, the Gov.'s office is a "watchdog" of the 88 county veterans offices contained within Ohio. It appears our "watchdog" in Ohio was caught sleeping. Large county veteran service officers/directors are paid large-big-huge salaries, in Ohio. Some make over a $100,000. It gets even worse. Many of the CVSO's belong to a National Organization of CVSO where they travel and train all over the United States at tax payers expense. How about just training in Ohio?? The problem is that many of these "highly trained"(???) CVSO's are spending more time training and less time in the office helping vet's with claims. Don't get me wrong. There are some really good county vet's offices in Ohio--along with some very good service officers. However, it is time the Ohio Gov Office of Veterans Affairs (GOVA) cleans up some of this "dirty" county laundry!!

Edited December 10, 2009 by vmo

[broncovet]

It looks like Ohio VSO's are modeling after the VA...pay the executives big bonuses, and take the money out of the money that is supposed to go to Veterans. Why would we expect anything less from State VSO's when the VA does exactly the same thing?

[Testvet]

It looks like Ohio VSO's are modeling after the VA...pay the executives big bonuses, and take the money out of the money that is supposed to go to Veterans. Why would we expect anything less from State VSO's when the VA does exactly the same thing?

why are veterans allowed to go to a different county and use and abuse their resources? Stolen food cards (stealing from vets is low life) I don't care if you are helping vets with your right hand while your left hand is taking everything not nailed down, and the ungodly raises these people were getting at a time when veterans and seniors are not getting any raise, no 2-3% or another 5.8% oh heck no these people go for 60% and 80% pay raises excuse me who's ignorant here, no one in the nation is getting those kind of raises.....

[MikeR]

Heck they never called me back in Knox county.