Veterans in Monmouth County will now get help accessing benefits and programs that they are entitled to at the newly named Office on Aging, Disabilities and Veterans Services located at 21 Court and Main streets in Freehold Borough.
Monmouth County officials marked the opening of the renamed Office on Aging, Disabilities and Veterans Services in Freehold Borough on Nov. 10. Milton Ziment, of Long Branch, (above) was among the veterans on hand for the dedication, which featured remarks by Greg Bean (below), whose son, Coleman, took his own life after two tours of duty in Iraq. PHOTOS BY JEFF GRANIT staff Previously, the building, located off Court Street, behind the Monmouth County Hall of Records, was called the Office on Aging, Disabilities and Veterans Interment. The new name, along with a newly designed space within the building, reflects the expanded services that will assist veterans in their lifetime — services that they need now — in addition to the burial benefit that has long been provided.
A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held Nov. 10 to celebrate the new office. In attendance was Monmouth County Freeholder Amy Mallet, who gave the opening remarks. Also attending the ceremony were Monmouth County Freeholder Director Lillian G. Burry, Freeholder Emeritus Theodore J. Narozanick, Freeholder John Curley, and Thomas F. Pivinski, executive director of the county’s Office on Aging, Disabilities and Veterans Services.
Rep. Rush Holt (D-12th District) was also in attendance, as were representatives for Rep. Chris Smith (R-4th District) and Rep. Frank Pallone Jr. (D-6th District).
Guest speaker for the ceremony was Greg Bean, of East Brunswick, former executive editor of Greater Media Newspapers, Freehold Township. Bean and his wife, Linda, lost their son, Sgt. Coleman S. Bean, 25, on Sept. 6, 2008, when he took his own life after serving two tours of duty in Iraq. Coleman Bean suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Bean and his wife spend many hours advocating for veterans, so that they may receive the help the Bean family believes was not accessible to Coleman.
American Legion Department Commander Robert Looby (left) listens to remarks during the opening of the renamed Office on Aging, Disabilities and Veterans Services on Nov. 10. JEFF GRANIT staff Mallet, who took the lead in getting the plan for the expanded services off the ground, told guests at the ceremony that “able-bodied men and women have defended their homeland in times of peace and war.”
“But … the struggle to help our veterans has been met with mixed results,” Mallet said.
She explained that Monmouth County is home to 36,000 veterans, ranging in age from early 20s to 90s.
“Our commitment to them remains strong, and the battle we fight for them at home just got some much-needed reinforcements,” Mallet said.
The veterans’ needs are diverse, and many do not know where to turn for assistance, Mallet said. She added that in order to obtain these benefits, there is a maze of very time-consuming paperwork that must be navigated.
“There are a variety of programs offered by federal and state governments to assist veterans — from monetary to medical services, from housing in senior residences to military funerals and more,” Mallet said. “The hurdles our veterans have to jump over to get the benefits they deserve is a battle they should not have to fight. It’s been documented that the Veterans Administration can do a better job helping veterans. We are that better job.”
Monmouth County ranks third statewide for the highest population of veterans in the state, said Mallet, who added that the county ranks fifth in the state for total Veterans Administration expenditures.
“That statistic is about to change,” she said.
“The new office has two trained county veterans services officers on staff to assist and advocate for the veterans, Director of Veterans Services Sue Moleon, a licensed crisis counselor, and social worker Debbie Bottomley, who will be fighting for benefits they are entitled to, helping them fill out the necessary paperwork and even accompanying them when needed during a subsequent review process,” Mallet said, adding that the county is providing these services without additional cost. Existing personnel were trained.
Mallet also called for volunteers, especially veterans who are able to put some time in at the office assisting the veterans services officers and the veterans.
“Our goal is not to supercede any existing programs, but to assist our veterans in finding the best agency to help them,” Mallet said. “Our plan is to be in constant communication with our local VFWs, American Legions, medical facilities and the many organizations in the community, so that veterans know how to get what they need. Based on needs, veterans will be referred accordingly. We must support our troops who face combat in foreign lands, but we must also provide for the needs upon their return home.”
The idea for the expanded office came about after Pivinski attended a seminar by Vietnam veteran John Dorrity at Monmouth University, West Long Branch.
Pivinski contacted Mallet, and they came up with a plan to revamp the existing office to create a space just for veterans.
Bean shared his son Coleman’s story, telling attendees that Coleman joined the military on Sept. 5, 2001, just a few days before the attacks on the World Trade Center Towers.
“He had no idea what would happen,” Bean recalled. The attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon were just a few days away.
Coleman Bean was a member of the U.S. Army’s Individual Ready Reserve, with which he had signed a four-year commitment after completing his first tour of duty — one that included combat in Iraq in 2003 and 2004. He was called back to active duty in 2007, assigned to a unit of the Maryland National Guard, with which he served his second tour in Iraq. Coleman was stationed in northern Iraq through much of 2007 and early 2008. Upon returning that May, the Maryland soldiers had access to the National Guard unit’s services, but as an Individual Ready Reserve soldier, Coleman came home to New Jersey, and that geographic isolation meant he was not easily able to get help. Bean said that Coleman attempted to obtain services through the VA but did not receive them in a timely manner.
After his first four-year commitment had ended, Bean said Coleman struggled to find help for school entitlements and health services.
“There were no people to help. He spent some time as a bartender and as a bouncer, and his PSTD became more pronounced,” Bean said.
In 2007 he received notice to go back. Shortly before that notice came, he had received a diagnosis of PTSD from the VA Clinic at Lyons, N.J. But because he was still on active duty, Bean said, the VA could not help him, and told him he’d have to get treatment from the Army.
Bean said Coleman did not share the VA diagnosis with the Army, even though Bean believes it might have saved him a second deployment.
“He was about to be deployed but didn’t take that diagnosis with him, because if he didn’t go, he said someone else would have to. He served as machine gunner providing convoy security, and as anyone knows, those convoys were threatened regularly,” Bean said.
Bean said that when Coleman came home from his second tour, he seemed better, but after a few weeks the symptoms returned. Bean said some of his son’s PTSD symptoms were sleeplessness, emotional issues, too much drinking and lack of focus.
“That all ended on Sept. 6, 2008. After a night of drinking, an automobile accident, and an arrest for DUI, he took his own life,” Bean said. “Before that, he had tried to get help from the VA, but appointments were routinely canceled and there was no veterans’ outreach for him in Middlesex County that he knew about. It will be better, at least in Monmouth County, with services such as these available to veterans. They need help accessing benefits and with career counseling, and emotional counseling for those with PTSD,” he said.
Bean also discussed alternative services for those with PTSD.
“There are many options outside the Veterans Administration that you should be aware of,” he told county officials. “Sometimes, they can’t wait for an appointment, and there are services that offer help 24/7.”
Bean said these services include Give an Hour (www.Giveanhour.org); The Soldiers Project at 1-877-5343, www.thesoldiersproject. org; and UMDNJ’s veterans hot line at 1- 866-838-7654.
Bean said that the Veterans Office was a “great thing” and he hoped it does some good.
“A place like this will actually save lives,” he said.
He also said he was continuing to work with legislators Holt and Sen. Frank Lautenberg on bills allocating funds for suicide-prevention outreach and improving mental-health support services for all veterans. The bills were inspired by Coleman Bean’s story and are named in his memory. The House bill, introduced by Holt, has passed, but its companion bill, which was introduced by Lautenberg, is still pending in the Senate.
At the ceremony, Holt offered his thanks to the county and to Bean.
“Only a fraction of the veterans are even known to the VA,” Holt said. “There are so many they are just not reaching. Having someone who will help veterans with psychological counseling, understanding and accessing benefits and learning about the expanded GI Bill will be helpful. I believe it will save lives, and it can’t be soon enough.”