NORTHAMPTON — Granby is the 14th town to join Central Hampshire Veterans’ Services after the town’s part-time veteran service officer position went unfilled.
According to Select Board Chair Mark Bail, Granby struggled to attract applicants at the rate of pay and number of hours offered. The former veterans service agent, David Mendoza, suggested that town officials seek out Northampton-based Central Hampshire Veterans’ Services prior to his departure.
Central Hampshire Veterans’ Services, which contracts to provide veterans services with a majority of the communities in Hampshire County, began working with Granby last winter, Director Steven Connor said. The Select Board approved a multiyear agreement with the district at its Sept. 3 meeting.
So far, eight to 12 veterans have already filed claims with the district, but Connor expects more to follow soon.
“We’re really grateful to have the opportunity to work with a new community and their veterans to get them the services and benefits they need,” Connor said. “Nowadays, it’s the Vietnam vets where the impacts of Agent Orange and radiation are coming back to haunt them.”
The district has absorbed many small town veterans departments as veteran services becomes more complicated, Connor said. Specifically, federal law requires all officers to get accreditation to make claims with the Department of Veterans Affairs. Towns on tight budgets often cannot pay for the accreditation requirements, including multiple trainings a year.
“Our low income assistance that we provide for out-of-work and disabled vertains, those numbers have gone down as many World War II or Korean War vets are lost,” Connor said. “But our VA claims, especially with the PACT Act, really increased.”
The PACT Act was passed by in 2022 to expand health care benefits for veterans and monetary benefits for disabled veterans. The legislation specifically focused on veterans who develop health issues from exposure to toxic substances during service. Connor explains that many health conditions, from something as simple as high blood pressure to conditions as life threatening as heart attacks, could qualify veterans for these extended benefits.
Connor said it’s unlikely that the district with continue to take on new towns. There is only a couple of municipalities left in Hampshire County not covered by an accredited VSO.
Central Hampshire Veterans Service agents will attend Granby’s veteran coffee hours and lunches at the American Legion to speak with veterans and take new claims.
“Every time I do an interview about this stuff, the next thing you know is I got five more people calling,” he said. “It always amazes me how many veterans that have disabilities and they don’t get their benefits.”