The holidays can be a tough time for everyone, and the pandemic has made things even harder. For veterans who may be struggling, both Sherburne Co. and Wright Co. have services to help that veterans are often not even aware of.

“There are several challenges for our veterans and their families,” said Director of Wright Co. Veterans Services Greg Pickard. “Obviously the biggest right now is the current COVID-19 crisis and getting veterans disability examinations. It’s been tough for all the agencies involved with veterans’ benefits because of the in-person restrictions.”

To overcome the challenges, the Sherburne and Wright Co. offices, as well as the Veteran’s Service Organizations (American Legion, Disabled American Veterans, MN Dept. of Veterans Affairs, Paralyzed Veterans of America, and Veterans of Foreign Wars) and the VA have had to significantly alter their “normal” way of doing business. To meet COVID-19 restrictions while still providing assistance to the veteran population, changes have been made to nearly everything, from how they communicate to how they obtain signatures on forms. 

“Another issue is getting veterans and their families to come in and educating them on misinformation that may not have been accurate the first time or has changed since they came in,” said Director of Sherburne Co. Veterans Services Bruce Price.

The number of veterans applying for services has continued to rise. In Wright Co., the numbers have steadily increased, from 3,065 in 2017 to 4,752 in 2019, and the numbers in 2020 are expected to meet or exceed those. Veterans that are applying also continue to rise in Sherburne Co. 

“We average around 50 new veterans every month,” said Price. “That number has been consistent since I started here in 2012.”

Veterans and their families are often not even aware of the services available to them. County Veteran Services are available to not only help them understand the benefits that may be available to them, but also the requirements to apply for a specific benefit.

“We assist veterans and their families with understanding and applying for their benefits through state and federal veteran service organizations,” said Pickard. “If we’re not the expert on the benefit in question we ensure they connect with the proper agency.”

A good example of this is educational benefits. While county veteran services aren’t the experts when it comes to the G.I. bill benefits made available from the Veterans Administration of MN Dept. of Veterans Affairs, they connect veterans and their families with the people in higher education who will get them to the expert.

A big part of assisting veterans and their families is also correcting misinformation and what people ‘think’ they know.

“I come across veterans from around the nation who were either told they weren’t eligible for benefits or didn’t even consider themselves to be a veteran for one reason or another,” said Price. “For example, they didn’t retire out of the service or see active combat.”

He stressed that veterans’ benefits have continued to increase and change over the years and recommends that vets and their families keep checking to see what they may be eligible for until the day they pass away.

“It takes getting them in here and educating them on misinformation that may not have been accurate the first time or has changed since they last checked,” he said.

Another problem is that families or even the veterans themselves often aren’t sure about everything they were involved in. Sitting down and talking with someone from veterans’ services often yields unexpected results. For example, any veteran who was in Vietnam is automatically in the VA Health Care System.

All veterans and their families are encouraged to find out what benefits are available to them.

“Bottom line, if you’re a veteran or a family member of a veteran and have a question about what benefits may be available to you because of your, your spouse’s, your parent’s, or possibly even your child’s service, then contact us,” said Pickard. “We’ll answer your questions or get you in touch with the person or agency that can.”

To contact Sherburne Co. Veterans Services, call 763-765-3100 or email veterans@co.sherburne.mn.us. More information can be found on their website at https://www.co.sherburne.mn.us/228/Veterans-Services. To contact Wright Co. Veterans Services, call 763-682-7325 or email vso@co.wright.mn.us. More information can be found on their website at https://www.co.wright.mn.us/218/Veteran-Services.