BELCHERTOWN — Before Dustin Ruby saw the job posting for a veterans service officer, he had no idea the office existed.
As the former deputy director of veteran services in Chicopee, Ruby found his unawareness was not a unique experience. Young veterans often skip the American Legion or Veterans of Foreign Wars bars where older veterans found their communities. As a result, fewer of these veterans are getting connected to the public resources and support services available to them.
“I look at it like my own situation. What drew me was the job,” he continued. “But what could you do that could potentially draw somebody like me to an event?”
Rudy now hopes to bring this emphasis on connection to Belchertown as the new veteran services officer. By getting out in the community, Ruby hopes to foster the support and socialization that can improve the quality of life for the 850 veteran who live in town.
“I would love to sit down with every veteran in Belchertown at some point and just see if there’s anything I can do for them, talk with them, see if they’re connected with their benefits, or if there’s anything we could be doing better here,” Ruby said.
Ruby replaced Charly Roque, who remains highly respected for her dedication to veterans, and Ruby said he plans to take the first few months to learn from her work before adding his own programs.
“Charly was outstanding in this job, so I’m not trying to change a lot of what she did,” he said. “If I can add to a few things, great.”
But Rudy does have his own ideas to implement. He wants to collaborate with other town departments to honor veterans regularly. In Chicopee, the police department had a veterans liaison who mentored officers responding to veterans in distress. The Chicopee Library includes a small exhibit honoring a local veteran, complete with a mannequin displaying his or her uniform.
When it comes to encouraging socialization among veterans, Ruby prefers events with family-friendly activities like hikes, cornhole and cookouts. But the real key to getting veterans out of the house is by offering free entry for their spouses.
“If you want to reach the veteran, you need to make it something that’s for the veteran and the spouse or significant other, so that they’re not kind of having to just show up by themselves,” Ruby said.
Since he’s settled into the office on April 17, veterans have been visiting nonstop. His calendar marks at least three to four daily walk-ins for the past week. Some have come to introduce themselves, while others need help in benefit claims.
Claims, both state and federal, make up the core of Ruby’s work. He processes Chapter 115 benefits, which assist low-income veterans with healthcare, rent, and daily essentials. But his real bread and butter are federal benefits because these are the payments veterans have earned through their service, Ruby said.
“If you signed up to join the military, essentially, the contract is that you are willing to give up to your life to the military,” he continued. “A lot of people come back with a lot of (mental and physical health) issues, and they don’t realize that because those issues came from their military service, government owes them to take care of those things.”
Ruby served in Iraq, Afghanistan and stateside as a Army National Guard solider. After his discharge in 2011, he returned to Afghanistan as a civilian contractor and advising Special Forces.
When he returned home, Ruby went into real estate, flipping and selling houses until COVID halted his work. Suddenly, Ruby was left looking for a new passion, and he found it in his former career.
“I feel like, if you’re going to spend your whole life doing your job, if you don’t like what you do, you’re not going to be happy,” Ruby said. “This kind of work for me is the best. I love helping veterans.”
Memorial Day will be Ruby’s first big event as a veterans service officer. The South Cemetery Salute begins at 8:30 a.m., followed by the Memorial Day Parade at 10 a.m. But if veterans would like to meet Ruby before then, the sign on the door will indicate if he’s in.
