HAMILTON: Help available for veterans

By Jennifer Kohlhepp, Managing Editor
   “A lot of veterans don’t trust the system. They have more faith in another vet than in the government itself,” U.S. Army Vietnam War era veteran Leonard Pope said.
   The Mercer County Veterans Support Group is an organization of veterans helping veterans. The group meets in the Veterans Clinic at 3635 Quaker Bridge Road in Hamilton Township from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. the third Wednesday of every month.
   The group started a little more than three years ago with five members, now has approximately nine members and is seeking to recruit more.
   ”There are a lot of veterans out there, and they know there’s help available, but they don’t know how to access it,” Mr. Pope said, adding he got out of the service in 1968, but didn’t go to Veterans Affairs until 2002.
   ”It wasn’t that long ago that they started to accept Agent Orange,” Mr. Pope said. “They denied it existed.”
   At one time, particularly during the Vietnam War era, veterans believed the government had the motto: “Delay. Deny. Hope you die,” according to Army veteran (1970-1971) Bruce Groendyke, treasurer of the Blinded Veterans Association.
   ”Spouses do not apply,” added Marine Corps veteran (1973-75) Mustafaa Shabazz.
   Now the government is providing more help to veterans, and Vietnam War era vets are finally getting the services they need and deserve. Edward Mazzeo, Marine Corps veteran (1968-69) and chief of Mercer County Veteran Services, said he assists 1,372 clients, of which 50 are present day war veterans.
   ”My biggest clientele is from Vietnam,” he said. “I have very few from Iraq and Afghanistan.”
   He said a lot of the Vietnam War veterans were victims of Agent Orange. They also suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder as well as combat injuries.
   ”The ones who came back weren’t always the lucky ones,” Mr. Groendyke said.
   The VA commissioned the Mercer County Veterans Support Group particularly to help blind and visually impaired veterans, but no veteran is turned away from participating.
   ”There are a lot of diabetics who are not sure what they are entitled to that we help guide,” Army veteran (1967-1994) Louis Samuels said. “We also had a lady come in, and she was a little upset and needed help with mental health services.”
   However, the group’s main mission is trying to make blind and visually impaired veterans more independent through mobility training and the use of new technological devices.
   Braille is on its way out the door with the development of talking computers, magnification devices and portable readers that can read printed materials aloud, according to the veterans.
   ”It’s easier to get access to expensive devices through the VA,” Mr. Shabazz said.
   The support group provides information about obtaining these devices as well as mobility training through the 10-day Visually-Impaired Services Outpatient Rehabilitation program. The group also hosts numerous guest speakers, encourages conversations about military experience and provides other services such as therapy dog visitations.
   The group recently partnered with the Apple store in Quakerbridge Mall to provide blind and visually impaired veterans with instructions on how to use the iPhone for the blind.
   Mr. Shabazz said one of the key aspects of joining the group is networking.
   ”A lot of vets don’t have an idea of how to network with resources and other people,” he said. “We draw them out, embrace them and help them reopen their lives.”
   One of the organizations the group networks with is Hope for Veterans, which helps homeless veterans and veteran families at risk of homelessness.
   Mr. Pope said he doesn’t like to think about how many veterans just sit home and become couch potatoes not knowing what to do or how to change their situation.
   ”We try to have fun and talk to each other, including, every now and then, crying on each others’ shoulders a little bit, but what’s most important is knowing that we’re not there by ourselves in the big fight,” he said.
   Although the group is based in Mercer County, Mr. Pope said, “If they are a vet and want to travel to us, we would never tell a vet no you can’t participate.”
   He encouraged veterans to attend the next meeting and said, “It’s easier to talk to a vet than a non-vet.”
   Mr. Groendyke said, “You’ll learn you’re not in it alone.”
   For more information, call John Calella at 732-355-1148.