Veterans are invited to a come-and-go informational event from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., or longer if needed, April 5 at the Hope American Legion.
The Sons of the American Legion Post 365 is hosting several veteran groups who will be there to disseminate information. Oftentimes people are not aware of what benefits they qualify for, or how to go about getting them.
Mark Sollman, chapter president, said one group is coming in from Manhattan that specializes in Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Another group from Topeka will have people who can speak to veterans about suicide awareness and give information about benefits.
“And we have the mobile VA Center coming up from Wichita,” he said. “They have everything about all benefits. If they don’t know, they can get someone in touch with someone that does know — if you have a question they’re not familiar with, they’ll get you in touch with somebody that is familiar with it.”
All veterans and active-duty military are invited to stop by and learn about the benefits they have earned including death benefits. There are often benefits
“They’ve got a booklet that you can fill out for your loved ones for when you do pass, it has all your military information in there,” he said. “It makes it easier to get ahold of the VA and if you have a government plot — all sorts of things.”
All veterans, whether they are members of an American Legion or not, are invited to attend.
Sollman said the Sons of the American Legion put the event together after seeing the Mobile Veterans Administration van when they visited the Rolling Vietnam Memorial Wall in Wichita.
“We were very impressed by it,” he said. “We talked to them for a bit and thought, ‘We need to get something like that up here.’”
The visiting entities have said they will stay past 6 p.m. if people are still coming in and looking for information.
There will be hot dogs and chips available, until they run out for free but donations are accepted.