Wilmington Veterans Experience Action Center to host 3-day event

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — From VA benefits compensation and pension claims to wellness exams and mental health counseling, veterans across the Cape Fear will be able to tap into a number of resources during an event in Wilmington this week.

Hosted by the Winston-Salem VA Regional Office, the Veterans Experience Action Center  (VEAC) will be taking place Sept. 23-25 at American Legion Post 10 located at 702 Pine Grove Road, Wilmington.

“Its a combination of a public and private partnership with the Department of Veterans Affairs to help veterans having difficult adjudicating their claims,” said Tom Cerniglia, chair of the Cape Fear Region VEAC. “Its done on the spot as a result of the volunteers the VA sends down to help our brothers and sisters in arms.”

The following is a list of services that will be available:

• VA benefits compensation and pension claims
• Wellness exams, on-site enrollment in VA health care benefits
• Social services, including caregiver support and home health care
• Mental health counseling resources
• Homeless, low-income housing and vocational support services

The benefit of an event like this Cerniglia says is that veterans don’t feel they’re a number on a page.

“This is a synergistic effect between veterans, administration personnel who can help veterans, and veterans who need the help,” Cerniglia said. “Its not only helpful to the veterans, its also helpful for the VA volunteer, they recognize there’s a real person in front of them.”

The event will be held Thursday and Friday from 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. and Saturday on 9 a.m. – 2 p.m.

“For the past three years we have held this event, its helped many veterans in the area, a lot of them going from a small percentage of their disability to 100 percent, giving them a living wage to take them out of poverty or financial difficulty they’re having,” Cerniglia said.

The opportunity to meet with someone face-to-face also provides emotional support for veterans.

“Those veterans feel they need help but didn’t know where to go and were despondent and were able to come in and find some relief,” he said.

Any veteran who plans to attend should bring their Military Separation Papers (DD Form 214) and any relevant correspondence from the VA. COVID safety measures will be enforced.

This VEAC event is sponsored by District 9 of the American Legion which serves Brunswick, Columbus, New Hanover and Pender counties.