Fair aims to get veterans the help they earned

Making sure veterans know about and receive all the benefits they earned serving their country: that is the goal of this week’s Veterans Resource Fair put together by Delegate Gregorio Kilili C. Sablan (Ind-MP).

The fair begins on Saipan on Wednesday, Feb. 22, from 1pm to 7pm at the Pedro P. Tenorio Multi-Purpose Center. On Thursday, Feb. 23, the fair continues on Tinian at the Northern Marianas College instructional site from 10am to 4pm. The third and final day of the fair will be on Rota on Friday, Feb. 24, at the Rota Resort from 10am to 4 pm.

“We will have over 30 different federal and local resource providers set up with tables at the fairs,” Sablan said. “Staff from the Veterans Health Administration and the Veterans Benefits Administration will be there to answer questions and assist veterans with enrollments or claims.

“We will also have representatives from the U.S. Army Reserve’s Family Programs and the Department of Defense’s Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve, along with various Commonwealth agencies and community providers who will explain the education and vocational training, employment assistance, disability services, crisis assistance, legal aid, counseling, and social support programs they offer.

“Often it is hard for veterans and their families to find the help they need. So, we decided to bring together as many resources as we could in one place and make it easier for those who served our country to get the services they deserve,” Sablan said.

The Veterans Resource Fair is free and open to the public.

“Helping veterans, service members, and military families is the focus of this fair,” Sablan explained. “But everyone is welcome. You may learn about a resource at the fair and be able to pass along the information to someone you know who can benefit from it.”

Veterans and military families who wish to meet with a VA representative at the fair are encouraged to bring supporting documents (such as copies of DD214 forms, medical records, or marriage or birth certificates for dependents) that are relevant to their questions or claims.

For more information, contact the U.S. congressional office on Saipan at (670) 323-2647 or e-mail Kilili@mail.house.gov.

Sablan is a member of the House Veterans Affairs Committee. (PR)