Thursday, April 25, 2024
Linda Mallon
VETERANS VOICE
Linda Mallon, a retired Army master sgt., found her niche working with veterans and their families in Granbury. She is a former claims administrator for Blue Shield of New Jersey and later senior personnel sergeant taking care of soldiers’ careers for more than 20 years.
Beginning Sept. 30, more than 200 community organizations who provide transitional housing and supportive services for veterans at risk of becoming homeless will be the recipients of $116.4 million dollars under the VA’s Grant and Per Diem Program (GPD). Three different grants will be awarded including 60 Capital Grants, 121 Case Management Grants, and 26 Special Needs Grants.
Capital Grants totaling approximately $64.2 million will provide for the renovation of facilities servicing homeless veterans with more individual unit style housing, adding 1439 new beds over the next 2 years.
Case Management Grants totaling $28.4 million will be distributed to almost 155 case managers who provide supportive services and housing stability to veterans.
Special Needs Grants totally $23.75 million will be distributed to organizations providing homeless and supportive services to women veteran and those with special needs adding 217 beds over the next 3 years.
For a list of GDP grant recipients and nonprofit organizations, visit https://www.va.gov/homeless/gpd.asp. Homeless veterans in our community can contact my office for referrals and assistance. You may also contact Ken Horton at Mission Granbury 817-579-6866 or Josh Morrison at Pecan Valley Centers at 817-579-4489.
RESPIRATORY PROBLEMS
Veterans who are suffering from respiratory illnesses, chronic asthma, rhinitis and sinusitis within 10 years of qualifying service in Southwest Asia and were denied service connection for these conditions, please call my office. Some of these conditions may have been due to exposure to environmental hazards during your service and we would like to take a look at those claims.
The VA recently considered these three additional conditions as presumptive under the particulate matter presumptive announcement https://www.va.gov/opa/pressrel/pressrelease.cfm?id=5699 so if you have a diagnosis for these conditions, meet the qualifying service criteria and have not filed a claim you may be eligible for disability compensation.
INCOME OVER THRESHOLD
If you are not enrolled in the VA Health Care System because your income was over the threshold for enrollment eligibility, you will be eligible for VA health care for conditions the VA recognizes as “service connected.”
GRANBURY CLINIC
The Granbury Community Care Clinic, 1210 Paluxy Medical Circle, has a new phone number 817-579-2321. This was a very long time coming but they finally got a land line. Veterans enrolled with the VA Health Care System can still make appointments with the Fort Worth Outpatient Clinic Audiology 817-730-0179 and Optometry 817-730-0118 directly without having to get a referral from your primary care physician.
Our office has the capability to attend “virtual” VBA hearings on line with a Law Judge reviewing your appeal. We had our first hearing a few days ago and it went very well so if you get notification with a date, time and link to your virtual on line hearing in email and you’d like me to be there with you as your representative, let me know so we can set it up at my office.
REMEMBER VETERANS AND FAMILIES
Please keep our veterans and Gold Star families in your prayers right now. Veterans who served in support of the War on Terror kept our country safe for 20 years and there is no way we can repay them for their sacrifice. Our gratitude is immeasurable and we stand firmly in support of our veterans and their families, our troops and our Country. America has been through some very difficult times in its history, yet by the Grace of the Almighty God we prevail.
lmallon@co.hood.tx.us |817-579-3292
