Local Veterans event expected to help thousands

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — Attention veterans! Over the next few days, the American Legion, New Hanover Veterans Council, and the Department of Veterans Affairs are coming together to help those who served our country.

The Veteran Benefit Experience Center kicked off Thursday morning at the Elks Lodge in Wilmington on Oleander Drive.

The event gives veterans the opportunity to get answers to questions they may have about VA benefits, apply for disability compensation claims and possibly get them on the spot, and they even have a stand down event designed to help homeless veterans get back on their feet.

“If we’ve helped just one veteran we’ve made a difference,” Deputy Undersecretary for Disability Assistance, Robert Reynolds said. “But I’ve already heard the countless stories of the many veterans that we’ve helped this morning. And then I was even surprised to realize that we’ve had veterans drive as far away as Indiana, Georgia, that I’ve met this morning to come receive this one-on-one assistance.”

Reynolds helped make this event possible so he traveled from D.C. to see the impact the event is having on veterans firsthand.

“So really it’s breath taking I guess. I actually started this three years ago when the Legion approached me in D.C. about the idea. So to see where it’s grown of the the past three years, knowing that here in North Carolina alone they helped 4,000 veterans last year earn over $2 million in the benefits here in the state,” Reynolds said.

The event is open to any and all veterans.

Doors open again Friday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Saturday from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m.