VA Minnesota Dislocated Workers Program

By: Dan Meyer

The office hours for the Big Stone County Veterans Service Office are 7:30 am – 4:00 pm Monday through Friday. My office phone number is (320) 839-6398.

A friendly reminder. I will continue to be out of the office through Friday, May 21 for the Annual Meyer Father and Sons fishing trip in Ontario, Canada.

Are you an honorable discharged veteran, and have hearing loss and/or ringing in your ears? Was the hearing loss and/or ringing in your ears caused or aggravated by noise exposure during your military duty? Are you a past member of any military service branch, including the Army National Guard, and were these conditions caused by combat duty, field artillery, small arms, military vehicles, explosions, and/or other loud or prolonged noises?

If you answered yes to all three of the above questions, please call or stop by my office and let’s discuss the possibility of filing a service-connected disability compensation claim. If your claim is granted by VA, you may be entitled to monthly compensation payments; be eligible for VA health care; and receive hearing aids/batteries and hearing examinations at no cost to you.

Have you served in the military on active duty? Are you unemployed due to no fault of your own? Do the terms "layoff," "reduction in force," "dis­charged" or similar phrases describe what has hap­pened with your job?

The Minnesota Dislocated Worker Program has established a Veterans' Project to provide special assistance to veterans who have served on ac­tive duty, regardless of service era. Basic eligibil­ity criteria states that participants must have been discharged from active duty or found themselves unemployed between the periods of Dec. 1, 2007 to June 30, 2010 due to no fault of their own, i.e. laid off or received a general discharge or better.

This program was designed to help veterans get back into the workforce by developing an individu­alized employment plan that will include career counseling, job placement services, counselor approved training or education and/or support services to assist veterans in meeting their employment goals. This is a government funded project with no cost to veterans.

To get started contact your local WorkForce Center by visiting www.positivelyminnesota.com or calling 1(888)438-5627 (GET-JOBS). A trained counselor will contact you and explain other potential eli­gibility requirements and how the services work. Take the next step, call or visit a WorkForce Center today and let them know you are a veteran.

Until next week, take care and “Fair Winds and Following Seas!”