The Columbus Dispatch : State cuts squeeze veterans groups

By Jeb Phillips THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

The state's budget cuts are hitting everyone. Ohio's veterans organizations understand that. The organizations are actually getting off light compared with some state departments.

But the American Legion, AMVETS, Veterans of Foreign Wars and others say they could barely perform their most important function - providing services to Ohio veterans - before the cuts. Some say they might give up that function altogether - and put that burden on the state - if things don't get better.

Veterans groups might be better known for bingo nights or their bars, but the largest of them operate elaborate programs to serve veterans. It's an especially important task, they said, in wartime, when more troops are called up and more return home in need of medical and other assistance.

The groups hire and train officers and clerical employees to help veterans with their claims to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. A veteran with a military-related illness or injury often is entitled to federal money, but the process to get that money is so complicated, most of them need expert help.  Read on... The Columbus Dispatch : State cuts squeeze veterans groups.