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Veterans and Their Families Awarded $12 Million in Veterans' Benefits
  
- Free service helps veterans get the benefits they deserve -
  

BROWARD COUNTY, FL – It’s a free service provided by the Broward County Commission that many veterans and veteran families don’t know about. That’s changing, thanks to a team of specially trained Veterans Services Officers, on a mission to help local vets and their families get all the benefits they are entitled to.

The federal Veterans Affairs (VA) can be hard to navigate. Eligibility criteria for benefits can be confusing, paperwork is time-consuming and working your way through the application process can be daunting. As a result, many veterans benefits go unclaimed.

The Broward County Veterans Services team, all veterans themselves, help others through the process. In fact, in 2019, they helped nearly 12,000 Broward Veterans and their families. They successfully submitted more than 2,000 veteran claims resulting in $12 million in veteran benefits.  

Broward County’s Veterans Services Officers are specially trained by the Florida Department of Veterans Affairs. Armed with training and personal experience with the process, they meet one-on-one with veterans and/or their families to discuss their unique history and circumstance. They help clients determine eligibility for benefits, complete and submit application(s), and follow up to ensure a decision is reached. All services are free.

“Our biggest challenge is reaching veterans with the message that free assistance is available,” said Owen Walker, Manager of Broward County Veterans Services. “There are 100,000 veterans and families living in Broward. We are certified and equipped to assist when they come to us, or we can go to them. You don’t have to go through it alone.”

Here’s what one veteran, Ralph B., had to say about the service he received: “My Veterans Services Officer is my hero. I served in the Air Force during Vietnam and was assigned to a section requiring Top Secret Clearance. When I left and applied for VA benefits, the VA refused because they couldn’t prove my in-country Vietnam War service. Well, Broward’s Veterans Services Officer sprang into action and did the hard work to prove it. I became 100 percent disabled and now I’m receiving maximum VA Disability Compensation with my dependent spouse.”

If you or someone you know may be eligible for veterans’ benefits, call 954-357-6622, email Veterans@Broward.org, or visit Broward.org/ElderlyandVeterans for more information.


About Elderly and Veterans Services 

The Elderly and Veterans Services Division is part of the Broward County Human Services Department. The division uses a holistic approach to empower the elderly, veterans and their families and/or caregivers through supportive services that enhance quality of life, promote self-sufficiency and aging in place. Veterans’ services are provided to veterans, their surviving spouses, dependents and dependent survivors, regardless of age or other status. Services are free.


DATE: December 9, 2019
MEDIA CONTACT: Owen Walker, Manager
Veterans Services Section
PHONE: 954-357-6622, x0039
EMAIL: owalker@broward.org